A couple of days after Twitter was banned by the Nigerian government, many Nigerians came to the knowledge of the existence of an alternative microblogging platform – Koo. The similarities the app shares with Twitter had many thinking that it must have been hurriedly put together to replace Twitter. The truth, however, is that Koo had since been launched in 2020 and already had a user base of over seven million people before this time.
Truthfully, the app shares a striking resemblance with Twitter, but since its launch, its owners have made it clear that they have a unique vision, to allow users to share personal updates and opinions across numerous topics of interest in their native dialect. This specific feature is the reason the app easily broke into the Indian market, as it features microblogging in seven Indian languages plus English, thus allowing more non-English-speaking Indians to participate in the online dialogue.
At the time Koo hit the app stores in Nigeria, there was a lot of bias against it as some people thought it to be targeted at replacing Twitter and just would not give it a try. I recently decided to give it a shot and here is what my experience looked like.
To start with, I searched ‘Koo’ on the Google playstore and clicked to install it. For iPhone users, the app is also available on the iOS store. After installing, you click to open it. As a first time user, the first thing you have to do is select your home country, which in this case is Nigeria. As at now, there are just two country options, India and Nigeria.
Next, you have to select your languages of interest. There are languages like Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Fula, Tiv and Pidgin. If your language of interest is not available yet, select ‘Inform me’ and enter your mobile number to get notified. Koo has different silos divided by language — users can choose to be parts of the language that they choose, and the app and content is customized for that language. Once done with that, click to proceed and enter your number for registration. After entering my mobile number, I received the verification code almost immediately and I did not even need to type it as the app picked the code automatically. This should be the case for any user, so long as the registered phone number is contained in the same mobile phone.
After the verification code, you are good to go. And one more thing – uploading a profile picture. However, I noticed that this step was optional and one may choose to skip it. I did and it did not stop me from getting started on the app. You should note however, that to upload a picture, you need to allow Koo access to your files and media. This should not be an issue, because you would still need to grant this permission when you want to upload media files to your posts.
The first thing you will see is an official welcome message from Koo Nigeria Official. You can now search and follow people of interest. The posts here are called koo, and this literally translates into the slightly long drawn chirp of a bird. If you have trees close to your residence, you can probably relate to the the “kooo-koooooo” sound in the early mornings. You can like koos and even reshare them or re-koo them as we say. Your koo is your voice on the app, if you want to see it that way.
Unique features
Much like we like to think that this app has a lot of resemblance to what we were used to, the Koo app has some features unique to it. Koo’s interface is similar to that of Twitter, allowing users to categorize their posts with hashtags and tag other users in mentions or replies, but that is as far as it goes.
First is the number of characters. Users can share 400-character posts unlike the 280-character that Twitter provides. Think of how much more message you can pass with the extra 160 characters, without having to create a thread unless absolutely necessary. You can equally share an audio clip, or photos and videos, allowing you lots of options. Koo also uses hashtags to organize tweets around different topics.
Next is the “Talk to Type” feature which Koo introduced on 4 May 2021. This is the typical voice-to-text feature which allows users create a post with the app’s voice assistant. You only need to grant the app access to your microphone to use this. Imagine using this feature with your local dialect, and you will get a clearer picture of just how much freedom of expression this app could permit you. In many ways, this would break down a lot of communication barriers caused by illiteracy.
You can click on polls to vote on polls, and also create a poll yourself. Oh, and there is the verification feature. Koo marks verified accounts with a yellow-coloured tick. I also like the fact that the app supports Dark theme, and so gives users options in terms of how they might like to use it.
One of the noteworthy features I find particularly appealing is the dedicated WhatsApp icon right beside the re-Koo button. You can share koos directly from here to your Whatsapp contacts and status, as well as other social media including Facebook and Instagram. I find this feature interesting as it shows that Koo is prepared to integrate itself into what users already know and use.
As the app gets more downloads and signups, there should be more categories of people to be found there and thus more content.
The customer support team so far appears to be very swift in resolving complains. I had no issues using the app myself, but the reviews on the playstore shows that most complains got responses within 60 working minutes.
In India, Koo has recorded impressive adoption rates over the last one year with several news organisations, TV personalities and Social media influencers pulling their thousands of followers to join them on Koo as they actively share content. For Nigeria, however, Koo is just getting started.
What Koo has in its favour is timing, as it comes at a point when Twitter has generated lots of controversies. Moreover, Nigerians are always willing to try out new platforms and we can see how that played in the adoption of Tiktok. Considering the functionalities, simple interface, use of hashtags, ability to share Koos and create polls, news users should find it pretty easy migrating to the platform.
