Telegram 7.3: Voice chats and you have to make money
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For Telegram 7.3, the app gives us one of the most important updates with voice chats. And Telegram will start generating revenue from 2021.
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Every month, Telegram brings its share of new things, but for the end of 2020, Telegram 7.3 is hitting hard with the arrival of voice chats. The app has always been at the forefront of all the new features which were then copied by all the other messaging apps on the market. But another important announcement is that Telegram needs to start making money from 2021.
The vocal chats
Vocal chats speak for themselves. This is a feature available for all Telegram groups, but I’m not sure if only the admin can create them or any member in the group. As I’m the admin for all my groups… These vocal chats are really well thought out and designed. They activate from the group settings and then they will become an audio chat that runs parallel to the usual chats with texts and the like.
What’s really cool is that the vocal chat is in constant overlay. So you always know what’s going on even when you’re not in that group. The animation of icons and audio quality is impressive. With the overlay, you can tell who is speaking and even determine their volume. These vocal chats are versatile enough to be used in a group chatting or heated discussion.
Versatile enough for a few or thousands of people
But also for companies and professionals. They can organize conferences or meetings. They can be compared to group calls, but they are more user-friendly because of their persistence. The voice commands are also excellent. You can always activate the microphone or use a key on the keyboard to operate in Push to Talk mode.
Obviously voice chats are also available on Desktop, but for me, the interest is really on mobile. Telegram does not indicate limits on participants in voice chats. So I can be all alone with my imaginary friend and you can be thousands on a street chatting about how to break down the tyrannical system in place today. The fear is that since it’s filterless, you’re going to have all the spammers, trolls, and other cockroaches of human nature that can pollute the vocal chat.
Telegram needs to make money
You have other new features, especially those which now allow Telegram data to be transferred to the memory card. A long overdue option. But the other big news is that Durov announced that Telegram is on track to cross the 500 million user mark and that so far messaging has been self-sustaining.
It was therefore necessary to start earning income. It was predictable, as everyone wondered about Telegram’s funding. Even if the monetization will make you wince, the route Telegram took is the best, as one might have wondered in the long run about who was actually funding this app.
Revenue will be based on specific application options for businesses, but also for groups and channels with millions of subscribers. This small part of the users will finance the rest. There will never be any advertising in individual posts or groups, as that would be too intrusive. It’s no coincidence that the channels are not mentioned. Channels are not really a private chat chat, but more like a Facebook page.
A Ad Plateform Made in Telegram
Durov estimates that there are Telegram channels that have millions of subscribers and that function as a Twitter feed. And currently, the administrators of these channels use third party ad networks to monetize their audience. These advertisements are often intrusive to users.
Telegram will therefore launch its own advertising network which will be more respectful and which will clearly indicate that these are advertisements. But there will always be counterparts. If Telegram displays ads in the big channels, then the big channels will receive free audiences for their size. Or if they launch Premium Stickers, then Sticker Creators will receive Royalties. Overall that’s still okay, but we’ll wait to see what the real results of this new Telegram monetization policy are.
Telegram was forced to go through this monetization. Its initial goal was to finance itself through its GRAM cryptocurrency and the TON platform, but these American assholes beheaded the project. With a messaging system that knows an insolent and constant progression, Telegram had to change its projects. We wish him to achieve this delicate balance by generating enough income and not becoming an advertising labyrinthine system like Facebook or Whatsapp.
