With the connected lifestyle of being always-online, especially when you’ve got a modicum of fame to go with your name, people have a tendency to seek out what you’re up to. Not having personal experience with this, it’s hard to say whether it’s pleasant or otherwise, but with Facebook’s recent launch of its own streaming app for the famous, it seems that the trend continues, with a more focused approach, by the popular messaging app LINE’s parent company Naver Corp. Meet V.
Yes, the app is called V, which would typically make searching for it hard to find in the vast depths of the Play Store, but the full name is “V – live Broadcasting app”, capitalization and everything. so what does it do different than Facebook’s alternative? Well, it’s hard to argue that you should use a more limited fanbase or platform over one that has more potential followers and viewers. But what seems to be the target is not the typical population or a global community. Upon downloading and either logging in using your Line credentials or, ironically, your Facebook account, you’re offered the typical ‘here are some folks that are big and we feel like promoting in the setup process’.
The ‘popular’ people to follow were, at least for me, completely unheard of, so that paired with the title of the app and the icon, a two-finger V, like the American ‘peace’ sign, seem to target themselves at a culture whose youth love the symbol. V seems to be targeting itself at the Asian youth and users, or people with interest in the music and famous, by starring Asian talent. Why make an app that seems so targeted in its talent pool or audience(s)? Exactly that reason, probably. If you’re looking for a dedicated fanbase, you’d be more likely to stream using an app that has the audience you’d want to attract already using, right? And thus, V has 500 thousand or more downloads in the Play Store, and an already loyal fanbase of the style and talent that it hosts and broadcasts. The app is still in beta, so updates are doubtlessly coming.
