Facebook New Product Experimentation (NPE) division on Wednesday released a new product called ‘Collab’ that enables users to “create, watch, and mix and match original videos, starting with music.” The invite-only beta app is currently available on iOS and the NPE division said in a release that the app was “expedited” due to COVID-19 lockdown around the world. The core feature of the app revolves around the ability to collaborate with two other people to create a music video with each user supplying music from an instrument. The app also enables users to create their own video by performing from three different music instruments and stitching it together to create a short video.
‘Collab’ Enables Users to Share Videos on Multiple Platforms
Upon creating a collab, the NPE team said that users can publish it for others to watch and to mix and match further. The app also enables users to share the creation on Instagram, Facebook Stories or on “any other platform”. “Music is one of the most powerful creative outlets,” Brittany Mennuti, product lead at NPE, said in a release. “With Collab, we’re leveraging technology to help people unlock creative superpowers by collaborating on original music videos from anywhere.” While the app carries several TikTok inspired elements, it has to be noted that TikTok only enables users to sync two videos. However, users through Collab can sync three videos together. “Collab has made our team feel closer together, even though we are all apart, and we hope it does the same for you,” Mennuti said.
‘Collab’ Availability Currently Restricted to US and Canada
It was highlighted that the app might contain bugs and that NPE team “still have plenty of work left to polish the experience.” Further, NPE team said that the users can sign up on the NPE site and that the users will be on a waitlist. Crucially, the NPE team is said to open up the invites in batches starting with users in the US and Canada. In November 2018, Facebook released Lasso that also contained several TikTok inspired elements. Lasso was released on iOS and on Android but the app never made it to the Indian shores. It remains to be seen if ‘Collab’ expands its presence to other parts of the world.
