Telegram is easily our most favourite messaging application here at Techweez and while it still remains in the shadow of another hugely successful messaging app, WhatsApp, it sees more activity from its 62 million monthly users than WhatsApp does from its 900 million strong monthly user base. And it keeps on getting better by the day. One of our favourite features added in recent updates was the ability to directly access links shared just like we’ve been doing with photos, videos and other files like documents and applications. The latest update to the Telegram Messenger application which became available on the Play Store yesterday brings Channels as well.
Channels are not new in the messaging space. BlackBerry Messenger has had them for a while now and they are very popular due to the communities that have sprung up around them. There are channels on food, cars, fashion… name it. That is now possible on Telegram. From the Telegram app’s menu, any user can start a new channel and add their contacts. One can choose to make their channel public (which means anyone can search and find it) or private (anyone intending to join the channel will require an invite).
Channels, available on version 3.2 of Telegram going forward will each be available to an unlimited number of members. Previously, the closest feature to Channels that was available to Telegram users was Broadcast Lists and these were limited to just 100 members.
One of the things I already like about Channels is that once you delete a message on any given channel, it also gets deleted on every channel member’s end so slip-ups can easily be taken care of to spare you any embarrassments.
Channels present an interesting means of interaction and community engagement particularly for brands since they have permanent URLs and anyone can join in on the real-time conversation.
Have you tried Channels out yet? If not, update your Telegram application from your respective app store (iOS or Android) and don’t forget to follow us on Telegram @techweez since we’ll be sharing lots of interesting stuff going forward.
