SINGAPORE, Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Girls in Thailand are singing live to guys in Canada from their phones; rich men in Saudi Arabia are showering gifts on beautiful women in Indonesia; young people around the world are being seemingly randomly matched on video calls based on big data analysis. Now, influenced by the dual growth engine of "live video + short video", video dating has incorporated rich commercial imagination to track players of social products. Recently OyeChat, a video chat app, quietly launched on Google Play, attracting millions of users over only a month, reaching the top 100 best-selling Google Play apps in the Middle East and North America.
OyeChat focuses on social functionality and adds pan-entertainment modules, such as real-time video matching and short music videos. "According to Facebook's sharing data in early 2020, the Top 10 markets for SNS apps include India, the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, and Thailand, showing that a growing number of national markets need localized social products. OyeChat will prioritize entering markets with less competition, polishing their products, cultivating an ecology, and ultimately moving on to other markets," Key Cheung, head of OyeChat, stated. According to data from App Annie, a third of the best-selling Google Play apps in India are video dating apps, and although they haven't reached a third of market share in Saudi Arabia and the United States, video dating apps are also a very important category on the bestselling list. Competition is fierce due to the profits. The global video chats the Match Group, Meet Group, Biglive, Badoo, Azar, Yalla, Uplive, and other social product giants have long established a foothold due to first-mover advantages. If OyeChat wants to be in the market, they must find a foothold that will differentiate it from the competition.
OyeChat initially targeted Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North America. It has deployed streamer ecosystems in Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and other countries, building its own streamer base. "Our product has innovated targeting female users and helping them communicate and interact users on the other end both simply and effectively, increasing the frequency and depth of and interest in communication and establishing real social relationships with strangers," Key stated. In the live-stream industry, OyeChat has also encouraged excellent streamers to cultivate their own circles, typically 10-20, in addition to cooperating with talent agencies and recruiting and developing its own streamers.
OyeChat's team originated from the Singapore-based company Thor Network Pte., Ltd. In contrast, its operations and R&D members are younger and have a more international perspective. They have worked at many globally listed companies, covering multiple directions, including the network, social networking, and gaming, where they garnered rich experience in global markets and operations. In addition to the advantages that streamer resources in the entertainment industry have brought to bear, OyeChat's product has also worked hard to localize. Compared to traditional social products, OyeChat employs real-time matching to further diversify everyone's interactions with content. A recommendation algorithm is incorporated to manage the matching process to recommend matches between men and women based on factors, such as interests, personalities, and geographic locations. Unlike other products with the same purview, OyeChat is more likely to have female users command the rhythm of communication. Not to mention, users can experience real-time beautification, masks, and cartoonification to transform themselves. Real-time chat translation is also featured, and viewers can give gifts to their favorite streamers to increase the entertainment value while chatting. Let's not forget that OyeChat is different from traditional live broadcasting by allowing the streamer to create personal 1-on-1 channels with users, creating a better communication experience. The streamer can also easily switch from multi-channel communication to single-channel communication, which is both easy and simple. Key stated that even the best profitable product, if it lacks operational capabilities, will be reduced to a shell of itself. I have been using it before, and now I feel that this product has matured to the proper iteration. It is being cautious, taking itself seriously, and polishing all its features.
