Viber unveils Public Chats tie-up with GMA News

On November 20, Viber officially launched worldwide its new Public Chats feature, which is tied into GMA News and other content providers in the Philippines. 

 

Public Chats will allow users to follow conversations between their favorite personalities, celebrities, and brands in realtime.

 

“It’s a fascinating social experiment,” said Talmon Marco, Viber CEO. According to him, this is a new way of addressing a universal need—the need to indulge our fascination with what other people are doing.

 

“The release of Public Chats on Viber allows people to interact in a new way, listening in on live discussions and staying up-to-date with exclusive content from the people and subjects that matter to them most,” he added.

 

Viber users can follow an unlimited number of Public Chats. While users can’t interact directly and join in on the ongoing conversation, they can “heart” any posts in the Chat. In the future, Public Chats owners will have the option to allow their fans to comment, but this feature is unavailable at present.

 

The GMA News Public Chat provides live feeds for its followers, keeping them up to date with the latest news in the country. Celebrity news and brand updates can also be found in other local Public Chats currently offered.

 

While owning a Public Chat is currently by invite only, the goal is to eventually open up the feature to allow regular users to host their own Public Chats as well.

 

Other content partners in the Philippines include the Philippine Daily Inquirer, SPIN.ph, PEP.ph, The Palace Manila, Globe, Smart, SM, and GrabTaxi.

 

“We are launching this concept with a great line-up of celebrities and personalities all over the world,” Marco said. “They are opening up their conversations on Viber, and we’re sure our users will love the ‘fly-on-the-wall’ experience this delivers.” — TJD, GMA News