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April 9, 2013

Branch – Start a Conversation

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Branch is a platform that encourages people to have organic conversations with the people around them. Users can publish their ideas, host public debates, and share popular links, gifs, and videos through the social platform, without feeling like they’re being limited to 140-characters or less.

Sign up for Branch with your Twitter account, and then grab something from the web and post it on the platform. Branch lets you post links to articles, videos, gifs, photos, and tweets, so you aren’t limited in the types of content you can share. Just as important as the content you post on Branch is what you have to say about it. Write a few words or a few paragraphs about the article you posted (the length is up to you), and invite other people to join in your conversation via email or Twitter. Conversations are set up to look similar to the comments section on a blog post, with messages for individual users showing up in chronological order. When someone invites you to join in on a conversation that he or she started, you can type up your answer and then “watch” the conversation to see how others respond to your critique.

More in-depth conversation threads can easily transition into separate topics (or “branches”), which is how a conversation that started out about reality TV in general can turn into four separate conversations about specific shows, network choices, and casting changes. To get involved in the platform on a deeper level, you can “explore” the conversations other users have started and add your two cents when appropriate, or click on other users’ “profile cards” to get a better idea of who you’re talking to online.

Practical Uses:

  • Find out what other people think of your favorite TV shows
  • Publish your ideas in a public forum
  • Ask friends for advice about what you should wear to a big event
  • Debate hot-button issues with strangers from across the country

Insider Tips:

  • Profile cards give people a better idea who they’re talking to
  • Users can invite people to join their conversations via email or Twitter
  • Branch offers personalized recommendations based on what a user’s friends are talking about
  • People who click a unique invite link don’t have to ask to join a conversation

What we liked:

  • Branch gives people more room to explain their opinions than Twitter
  • Users can see who’s listening to their conversations
  • Conversations about specific topics are grouped together
  • People can share and listen to music from within their “branches”

What we didn’t like:

  • People who “ask to join” conversations might not be interested in participating by the time they finally get approved

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: January 2013
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: New York, New York
  • Founded by: Josh Miller and Hursh Agrawal
  • Web site: http://branch.com

Costs:

  • Free

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