YouTube today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Simsim. It expects to complete the transaction in the coming weeks. The goal of the acquisition here is to help small businesses and retailers reach a wider consumer base.
Simsim is helping small businesses in India transition to e-commerce by using the means of video and creators. The simsim App serves as a platform to connect local businesses, influencers and customers.
How Simsim works?
The creators post video reviews about products from local businesses, and viewers can buy those products directly through the app. Videos are available in three local languages including Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. It enables retailers of all sizes to reach buyers through video in their preferred language.
“There will be no immediate changes to simsim, the app will continue operating independently while we work on ways to showcase simsim offers to YouTube viewers”, says YouTube.
The announcement further builds on YouTube’s ongoing ‘India Digitization Fund’ investment in the country. “With over 2500 YouTube creators with over one million subscribers, and the success of YouTube Shorts, which we launched in India first, we’re committed to bringing the best of YouTube to India and growing the creator community by making it even easier for the new generation of mobile-first creators to get started”, the company says.
In related news to Google, the company recently announced that it would be bringing a 60-minute limit for its calls on Google Meet. The new guidelines have now come into effect. At 55 minutes, everyone gets a notification that the call is about to end. To extend the call, the host can upgrade their Google account. Otherwise, the call will end at 60 minutes.
The new guidelines will only affect group calls, while one-on-one calls still have a limit of 24 hours. Now, if someone wants to host a group Video call with a free account, they will have to create a new link after the end of 60 minutes.