NEW YORK, Dec 25 — Is there anyone who hasn’t been impatient to get an answer to a message at some point or another? A new application called “Honk” aims to address this impatience fuelled by social media networks. Honk presents live messages that are visible while the user is in the process of writing them as well as the ability to call the recipient if they are not in front of their screen.
Older generations may remember MSN messenger, which allowed you to “call” the person you want to contact if they didn’t answer your message by shaking the chat window with a “nudge.” The “Honk” application seems to have been inspired by this feature when developing its instant messaging. With “Honk,” the application wants to make virtual exchanges more interactive and above all more time-sensitive.
How does it work?
After creating and customising one’s account with a profile picture and username, the user can add their friends and send them messages. In the chat window, two conversation bubbles are displayed on the screen, just like the messages on iPhones but bigger. The top one corresponds to the one of the recipient, and the bottom one concerns the user. The user can customise the colour of these speech bubbles.
This space is what differentiates “Honk” from other applications. Users can see in real time what their conversation partners are writing. Breaks, hesitations, corrections... With live typing all the writing is visible as it is being done. A system that allows one to feel more present in virtual exchanges, rendering it more “physical.” As on Twitter, Honk offers a limit of 160 characters to converse but there’s no need for a “send” button, just tap the button of the two arrows to refresh the conversion bubble and write a new message.
As for its ephemeral side, this is what brings Honk closer to Snapchat. The application does not keep the history of exchanges, which encourages users to be even more attentive to discussions. However, Honk allows users to attract the attention of those they are writing to by sending a “Honk”, an unmistakable notification to reach the chat window. You can even insist by pressing the “Honk” button to alert a friend if he doesn’t have the application open. Alerts are necessary since Honk doesn’t let messages be sent to (or kept for) people offline as does Snapchat.
Visual effects are an integral part of this application. With the “Magic Words” function, the user can assign a word to an emoji, which enables users to send a flood of smiley faces to fill the chat window when sending the message. Sending photos is also available.
Clearly intended for Generation Z, according to Techcrunch, it is possible to fill in your exact age only if you are under 21 years old, otherwise you will need to use the “21+” category. — AFP-Relaxnews
