Product Hunt is expanding its Reddit-like “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) service to now include video chats, powered by Blab. Starting today, anyone can watch a broadcast from their computer and enjoy a more interactive experience. The first guest to take advantage of this new service is Lowercase Capital’s managing director, Matt Mazzeo.
Since its debut in August, Product Hunt Live has hosted 150 discussions with a slew of guests, such as actor Ashton Kutcher, performer Amanda Palmer, investors Ben Horowitz and Gary Vaynerchuk, and others.
By partnering with Blab–a video service still in beta, which was created by Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch—Product Hunt is making discussions on its site more dynamic. Sure, people can type in answers, but sometimes the responses are slow because of typing times — wouldn’t you want to be able to just literally dial it in? This new offering brings a Google Hangout-like feel within an AMA.
The relationship between Product Hunt and Blab is more than that of two companies teaming together. In a blog post, chief executive Ryan Hoover explained that after leaving his previous job at PlayHaven, he interviewed with Monkey Inferno, which made Blab, and its CEO Shaan Puri. As part of that process, Hoover was asked to create a plan to develop a Q&A platform, called Boya. Obviously the platform didn’t pan out, but the partnership did, and Puri and Hoover are now working together.
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As always, guests for Product Hunt Live will have to coordinate directly with Product Hunt for scheduling. However, anyone can watch the broadcasts, and viewers can still submit text-based questions during the AMA. While everything will be live, a response will be made available after the fact. All guests will be able to take advantage of this livestreaming feature right away.
