To add to the ever growing list of social networks out there, a “Twitter for video” mobile application called Shoutz is just making its way into the App Store and Android Market. The app allows users to connect with friends (or followers), along with their favorite sports stars or celebrities by both sending and receiving 15-second video clips, aka Shoutz.
Much like Google+ and now Facebook, Shoutz lets you choose who you’d like to share certain Shoutz with, whether it be a one-on-one convo, a message to your family, your weekend softball team, gambling buddies, or your entire community of followers. The app has also partnered with different groups like the Nascar Members Club and NFL Alumni to let users join fan clubs, through which they can see Shoutz from their favorite drivers, players, artists etc.
Users can only send Shoutz from the mobile application, but there is a view-only desktop site that lets Shoutz users check in on the clips streaming across the Shoutz platform. The interface features tabs for trending Shoutz, a Fanclub-only stream, and Shoutz that are posted by friends. The app also integrates Facebook and Twitter, naturally.
This, along with Shoutz role as a partner to many of these celebrities, brands, and advertisers, offers up what could be an interesting ad platform. For each public shout, Shoutz will display a small banner ad along the bottom of the screen, micro-targeted based on age, location, and the users’ social behavior.
In the same way that celebrities have actively engaged with their fans on Twitter, the same could be true for Shoutz in video form — as long as the app breaks through its “empty room” phase quickly.
The Shoutz app is available now from the Android Market and Apple App Store.
