TikTok has revolutionized the way people consume and share information, and now Vylo is taking it a step further. With Vylo, users can record themselves discussing sports, current events, and other news categories – bringing the short video format to another level.
My initial thought was: Why share news comments in video clips when they can be posted on text-based comment sections of The New York Times or other news sites?
Tyler Reynolds, founder and CEO of Vylo, sees video as the future of news. In an interview with TechGround he expressed his optimism for “building a kingdom for news and discourse” in the near future.
Vylo is a groundbreaking app that combines news aggregation and social media with video. The home tab provides users with a stream of news from major publications, curated by an in-house team. Users can then add their own video or audio response to the stories they find interesting – perfect for those who don’t feel comfortable being seen!
Vylo is a cutting edge image platform that allows users to manage and share their media collections with ease. By utilizing our intuitive interface, users can quickly upload all sorts of media content,
Kleiner Perkins Fairchild Fund IV recently led Vylo’s $2 million pre-seed round, with support from investors such as Target CEO Brian Cornell, 3x MLB All-Star Ryan Howard, Welinder Shi Capital’s Curt Shi, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s venture firm 8808 Ventures and other angel investors.
Reynolds believes video-based news discussion has an advantage in providing a more personal experience. “We can replicate those conversations with technology; conversing over lunch with our closest friends about topics like COVID, Joe Biden and travel,” he said.
User-generated video commentary has been around for a while, but Reynolds believes the barrier to entry is too high on existing platforms like YouTube. On Vylo, however, creators have the option to easily comment on news pieces with their own two-minute take – a feature that decreases the difficulty of creating meaningful content.
Vylo is revolutionizing how viewers interact with news by visualizing the response section and making video commentary accessible to all.
Vylo’s “Trending” tab displays popular video and audio comments ranked by their insightfulness, just like comment upvotes on traditional news websites. For a personalized news experience, users can create a “Newsstand” following outlets and topics of interest. All content is moderated by third-party provider Hive before it goes live.
Break from the past
Twitter has long been the world’s digital public square, but as Elon Musk shakes it up, users are fleeing.
Vylo doesn’t plan to compete with Twitter like Mastodon. According to Reynolds, it’s “like a bunch of dogs chasing tails,” as everyone focuses on the present. The company is looking far into the future of tech and tech platforms with no interest in being a Twitter rival.
“People showing their faces and voices is a key factor we are now rolling out, as it will soon become essential,” he added.
Shi from Welinder Shi Capital believes news is headed in a more decentralized direction. Citing Vylo as an example of this shift, they said “Young people are increasingly turning to social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram for their news instead of traditional news sites – creating a gap that needs to be filled.”
Vylo recently launched its public beta, attracting 500+ users. Monetization is not currently a priority, however when the time comes the startup will consider various options such as an ad-free subscription model, revenue-sharing with content creators and helping paywalled publications drive subscriptions in exchange for a cut.
