Koo, the ‘desi’ version of the microblogging site Twitter, on Tuesday announced a new Talk to Type feature that allows its users to post content on the platform using voice commands. “This ‘Talk to Type’ feature is magical and takes creation for regional language creators to the next level,” said Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO and Co-founder of Koo.
Koo also claims that it is the first social media platform globally to use this feature in the Indian regional and local languages – Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi – apart from English. Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawatka adds that the feature is not available on Facebook, Twitter or any other global platform.
“Users don’t have to use the keyboard anymore and type out lengthy thoughts. India language speakers can now speak their mind and the words will show up on the screen magically! For those who found it difficult to type in local languages, this feature removes all that pain. We will keep adding value to Indians by enabling the easiest localized forms of expression and present their thoughts to India in a seamless way,” said Radhakrishna in a statement.
Koo will foray into all 22 official Indian languages this year and that the new feature will help empower regional creators, Times of India cited Radhakrishna.
“This feature is relevant and contextual to India and creators based out of the country. This new feature makes it easy for local language creators who are new to the keyboard as a concept,” Bidawatka said.
Koo was also among the winners of the Aatmanirbhar App Challenge last year. Many union ministers and government departments have endorsed Koo and have already signed up on the platform. Even the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is using Koo.
Homegrown microblogging platform Koo, which has many similarities with Twitter, has crossed over three million users in February this year. Koo has a yellow bird as its logo in contrast to Twitter’s blue bird.
Touted as the desi alternative to Twitter, Koo allows people to create and share posts, and even use hashtags. The platform gained massive attention during Twitter’s tussle with the Indian government over blocking certain accounts.