Digital Marketing

Second-Largest Micro-Blogging Platform in the World; Interview with the Co-founder of Koo, Mayank Bidawatka.

Mico Blogging Platform Koo

Koo is the world’s second-largest micro-blogging platform, and serves as an ideal alternative to Twitter. Like any platform hit with a huge spike in downloads, there were some kinks that Koo swiftly addressed, adding new features and additional languages so anyone in the world can enjoy the platform and engage in global conversations. In this interview with TechBullion, Co-founder of Koo, Mayank Bidawatka will be sharing Koo’s unique features and the future of the platform.

Please, can you introduce yourself to our audience?

I am a serial entrepreneur. I was a part of the foundation team at redBus (World’s largest bus ticketing platform), post which I co-founded The Media Ant, Goodbox, and now Koo. I graduated from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Manila. I was also a banker at ICICI Bank, one of the largest banks in India, before starting my entrepreneurial journey. I am an angel investor and have invested in over 15 startups.

What is Koo, and why is it relevant in the 21st century for freedom of speech?

Koo is the second-largest micro-blogging platform in the world, a proven and free alternative to Twitter and other micro-blogs that offers a more intuitive and user-friendly interface, as well as enhanced and easy-to-use features like multilingual posting, free verification, edit functionality among other differentiated features like 10 profile photos, 10 media attachments and longer videos. Koo democratizes the voices of people by empowering them to share their thoughts and express freely in a language of their choice through its immersive language experiences. To enable users who want to migrate from Twitter, we’ve built 2 specific tools that help do that. We help users to import their Tweets from Twitter to Koo and also help them find their Twitter followers on Koo.

Koo has only been here a few years and has already recorded tremendous success with millions of global downloads and active users. What is the story behind Koo?

Koo focuses on driving digital freedom of expression for billions of voices. It is built on the premise of being inclusive, including those who wish to communicate in native languages. Koo is a simple, transparent, safe and user-friendly platform with no gimmicks, confusing codes or hidden fees.

Are there features that differentiate Koo from other microblogging platforms? What are these features?

  • Post in multiple global languages at one go
  • 500-character limit and a thread functionality
  • Free self verification
  • Edit post functionality
  • Ability to schedule posts
  • Upload up to 10 profile photos
  • Upload up to 10 media attachments
  • Longer videos up to 512 MB
  • People feed showing users a list of millions of people they can follow upfront
  • Save posts functionality

We are working on multiple new features that will be coming soon. 

How many languages can Koo users translate their articles into? Why do you think this multiplicity of languages is important?

Koo’s Multi-Language Kooing feature enables users to post simultaneously in up to 20+ different languages, with more to be added in the coming months.

80% of the world doesn’t speak English. They speak a native language. To connect the world better and to be more inclusive, it’s important to enable these voices so the exchange of thoughts is not restricted only to the English speaking world.

Koo has over 60 million downloads and is actively leveraged by over 8,000 eminent personalities across politics, sports, media, entertainment, spirituality, and art & culture to connect with their followers in multiple languages. This includes Brazil’s President Lula and global figures like Ronaldinho and the Dalai Lama.

In this competitive technological age, what is your next step in the advancement of social communication and freedom of speech?

We are a user-focused platform. We do what’s best for them in terms of usage and safety. We continue listening to our users and what they want to see on Koo as we continue to grow and experience this new wave of growth. We constantly seek feedback with thoughts of how we can improve and provide a better experience for everyone.

In terms of features, we plan to build out many new engaging features that will help users express better and connect better with people on the platform.

In terms of policies, we are extremely transparent and our policies are published on our website for everyone to see and assimilate.

Koo does not interject its teams’ personal beliefs into the platform.

How will Koo favour content creators? Are content creators getting paid?

We show creators to all our users so that these creators can get more followers and that starts their engagement journey. We have plans to help creators monetize in the near future and we will provide them with the tools to be able to do so meaningfully.

Some prominent people in the world are using Koo; can you give us examples? And why do you think these people prefer Koo to your competitors?

Brazilian President-Elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, spiritual leader Dalai Lama and legendary footballer Ronaldhinho are using Koo, among other notable users. You will notice these personalities post their message in multiple languages. That helps them have a wider influence. For example, President Lula posts his messages in Portuguese and English while the Dalai Lama posts his in Portuguese, English, Spanish and Hindi. They also enjoy much higher engagement here than on other micro-blogging platforms.

What is the overall satisfaction a user will get from Koo?

  • The platform is simple, transparent, secure and free for all users across the globe, built with the intention of creating an inclusive community. 
  • They can connect better with creators. We show them millions of creators they can follow.
  • They can post their messages in multiple languages if they so wish. This helps them get an international reach and influence.
  • In addition, users can upload as many as 10 images and longer-form videos to their profiles, edit Koos (posts), schedule Koos ahead of time, and save Koos from people’s profiles for easy access for a more enriching social experience.
  • They can get their account self verified within seconds on Koo without any identity card or personally identifiable information.
  • They can import their Tweets or find their Twitter follows here.
  • They can upload multiple profile photos on a very immersive profile section.
  • Overall Koo is a safe, inclusive and friendly platform that’s user focused and is feature rich. We plan to keep introducing features that will help users and creators connect better and express themselves better among their followers.

Who are your investors and partners, and is Koo open for more investment?

Koo is an independent startup run by a team of passionate entrepreneurs and developers. We are backed by global investors, including Tiger Global and Accel Partners.

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