7 reasons why Google Allo will kill Whatsapp

We live in an age where technology rules almost every aspect of our overbooked schedules. Today, almost all of our actions, hobbies and even free thought stems from what we read or see online, or which apps clogging up our now limited 16 GB memory space, can offer us. These give us the easiest medium to communicate with fellow humans, even robots (case in point Siri and Cortana) and cares nought for geography, since you can virtually be facing your sister living overseas- spending hours ‘hanging out’ like you would in your room at home. With all the upcoming technological advancements and developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence, our brains are relentless to create more for us, offering us maximum comfort and minimum effort.


Google-Allo

And that’s where Google’s new app- ‘Google Allo’ comes in. It has all the oldies in the block sitting at the edge of their seats, because its new and user friendly features will give them all a run for their money.

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While Whatsapp dominates the world of Android and iOS messaging alike, and has a user-base of a population of a few large countries combined, Allo might just be on its way to steal its spotlight. Although Whatsapp, with Facebook Messenger and iMessage hot on its heels offers a plethora of highly advanced features that is definitely making life easier for the smartphone user community, Allo does one better and introduces a bunch of ‘smart abilities’, where it can pretty much act as your personal virtual assistant, that will give it its edge.
Although Whatsapp loyalists may speak out against the new app, which is the second part to Google’s new messaging plan with Duo, and remain fiercely loyal to the Facebook-acquired app, here’s a comparison between the two bringing light to the possibility that Google Allo may soon be ‘trumping’ (all puns intended), Whatsapp.

The Google Assistant

The reason why this app is like having your own personal assistant is because it is one, albeit virtual of course. Although Whatsapp has unique features of sending across a location, file, picture, audio recording and so on- these are all saved files that are being shared via the app, which makes communication so much closer. However, where Allo differs is that you could be wondering about the travel time to a certain place, or the best available flights to a certain destination or discounts on hotels and all you have to do is type in @google followed your question or order. Next thing you know, it will be providing you with all the details, accompanied by a series of pictures wherever available.

In-message searches

You could be making dinner plans or raving about the hot new song to people on WhatsApp – each time you wish to share and exchange information - you have to close WhatsApp (or run it in the background, if it suits your fancy) and get to a food/music app to copy the concerned links/files to send in the chat. With Google Allo, you can just type @google and ask about prospective restaurants or the particular song in the middle of the chat and it will provide you with the links to both in the chat- so it can be viewed and shared with your contact at your discretion. So it’s saving the user the trouble of temporarily closing the chat to find the relevant data, providing it on screen for both instead.

Automatic Responses

The app can provide automatic responses to messages on behalf of the user. It does this through a software that contains machine-learning technology, which gets better at picking up the user’s most frequently used responses with increased usage of the app. For instance if someone sends you a ‘How are you?’, the app will offer you the automatic response of ‘Good, how about you’ that you can send across. It may seem impersonal at first but it builds up with greater use and is definitely convenient for those who are on the run and are too busy to type out a response.

Picture Recognition

Google has incorporated ‘photo recognition’ in this app, making it possible for it to recognize a received picture and suggest an automatic response. For example, if someone sends you a picture of a sunset, it will suggest ‘beautiful’ or ‘wow’ as a response, depending on your maximum usage of either, from which you can choose the more applicable one and send it across.
Selective end to end encryption

While both Whatsapp and Allo offer end to end encryption for chats, the latter allows for ‘selective end to end encryption’, which means that you can select the contact you want to chat with in incognito mode, through its ‘Incognito Chat’ option. Along with this, the chat history will disappear after you have finished the talk, depending on the expiration period you have set. In case, you have switched off your expiration period, the chats won't disappear.

Text formatting and more advanced features

Google Allo allows you to format your text and send across larger and smaller font sizes of text messages, allowing you to increase or decrease the text size by sliding the send button up and down respectively, a feature that Whatsapp does not allow. It also has a wider array of sticker-collection and even allows the user to scribble on pictures before sending it across.
It’s got the Google brand tagline
Of course, WhatsApp has been acquired by Facebook, but Google Allo is a pure Google creation. The intention behind not incorporating features like direct calling or video calls is to redirect users to other Google apps like Duo and Hangouts. It has the power of the sworn-by ‘google search’ both inside and outside a chat-box and also makes communication easier and much more secure for the user.

Although Whatsapp is the current undisputed leader of the virtual-chat communications platform, there is a possibility that Google Allo will soon take the lead. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

What startups can learn from superheroes ???

Superheroes are one of the most popular creations of popular fiction. We have all grown up on them. We all have had our odd weak moments when we sported our briefs over trousers and wondered ‘What if?’ No, you did no such thing? Please accept my apologies!

However, amidst our fascination for the exploits of these men (and women) in tights, there lie many pertinent insights in their sagas for those making the bold endeavor of charting their own course.



Foster the myth of inception

Nearly every superhero has an extraordinary story of origin. Superman was rocketed to earth as the sole survivor of a distant planet. Batman is witness to his parents being murdered. Spiderman gets bitten by a radioactive spider. This exceptional event clearly signals to the audience that great things are surely afoot. The building of a colossus can only be triggered with a monumentally interesting founding tale.
Perhaps this is why many startups hold relics of their creation so close to their hearts. Be it the allure of the garage as a symbol of the entrepreneurial spirit in Silicon Valley, or the nearby café these days where many an Indian pioneering venture is setting sail. Every startup surely needs a riveting narrative of how it came to be. Was it the angst at something in the system? Did that harmless joke smile forth an interesting business proposition? Could a late night of inebriated revelry have brought like minds together?

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These episodes need to be revisited and recast. They not only serve as beacons of inspiration, but also function as web shooters to hook newer recruits and roll them in (to use a Spidey analogy).
Adopt a higher perspective
Superheroes never settle for the plebeian. Batman is the guardian of Gotham City. Superman protects the entire planet, the galaxy even. Ironman does not let even the toughest crease bother him. And even if I took some liberties with the last one, you get the picture. Superheroes straddle challenges which bestow an almost God-like status on them.
This striving towards a higher cause always can serve startups well. Apple essentially struck resonance with an entire population, because it addressed the emancipating idea of making computers (and subsequently all technology) accessible to essentially everybody. Santiniketan was established with the concept of liberating the learning process of children from the confines of the classroom, and putting it more in touch with nature.
When one is driven by an inspiring purpose, chances are one’s exploits are very likely to stand the test of time.

Identify your nemesis

There can be no superhero without a formidable enemy: Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, Batman and the Joker, Spiderman and the Green Goblin, Superman and Lex Luthor. This delicious counter-balance is the very thing which fuels the heroism of the hero. Without the devious plots of the super villain, there is no need for the superhero to stretch sinew and cerebrum. They are the very raison d’etre for these caped crusaders to go higher, faster, further.
A useful strategic exercise when one begins a startup is to ask ourselves who or what we are against. It is not just Indian television serials which can benefit from kindling long term rivalries; business endeavours too can be galvanised into action. Virgin positioned itself as always standing up to the big guys, in whatever category it entered. This led to it perceiving the new field of endeavour with ‘virginal eyes’ and innovations which favoured the consumer always resulted.
Pitching your wares against an ‘enemy’ brings an incredible focus to one’s activities and a sharply defined sense of purpose.

Have friends you can lean on

Being a superhero is no easy task. Even those with great powers sometimes need the reassurance of a helping hand. Batman often allies with Commissioner Gordon. Superman is assisted at times by Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson. The X-Men frequently lean on each other’s expertise to overcome challenges.
What is an endearing subtext in these epics is that it shows it is never a bad idea to ask for help no matter how powerful one might be.
Founders have to embrace this facet of the startup journey. They need to appreciate that from time to time they are going to need help from other sources. Be it counsel on some issue, or a reference to a prospective team member or even a session on financial management. Starting something is incredibly difficult, but one is never alone if one is able to evangelise the vision to an extent that others want to contribute in some manner. The Beatles famously sang about this many years back; it probably should play in lobbies of startup organisations: ‘I’ll get by with a little help from my friends’.

Develop an alter ego

Everyone, even superheroes, needs to escape from the pressures of the job once in awhile. This is why nearly all of them have secret identities where they can return to the humdrum of normal life, complete with pending EMIs and all. Taking a break is never a bad idea, especially when one is expected to perform great feats. Clark Kent is Superman’s alter ego. The Batman can let his hair down as Bruce Wayne. The only character who flaunts his identity openly is Ironman. But then again, not everyone can be Robert Downey Jr.!

Nurturing your own startup can be the most fulfilling experience ever. But it can also be an extremely exhausting one. The emotional highs and lows are akin to leaping over skyscrapers with a single jump at one moment, only to be socked in the solar plexus by a cannon shell a second later. This is why founders need an alternate life to transition to where they can unwind from time to time.

Adopting a sport, pursuing a hobby, learning to play a music instrument and going for that weekend trek are not unnecessary distractions in the entrepreneurial voyage. They can be life rafts to stay afloat when one is confronted with an ocean of problems. Never feel guilty to take that little break. Chances are you will be physically, mentally and spiritually replenished on your return. And if you so desire, you can even belt out He-Man’s most famous line when you come back to the workplace. Standing in the middle of the office with your smartphone raised, you can holler ‘I now have the power’.

Eventually, the startup journey is no less heroic. And in traveling along the path less trodden, every entrepreneur has the opportunity to create her very own blockbuster epic. A story more likely to be captured on carefully scrutinized balance sheets, rather than vividly illustrated comic books. May the force always be with you!

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