Nurph Launches Group Video Chat for Twitter

Nurph has officially launched Group Video Chat for Twitter to take your Twitter Chat experience to the next level. And the feedback we're getting is just incredible. We've even been lucky enough to have @GuyKawasaki stopping by the official #Nurph Channel to chat with us on camera, and Venture Beat wrote-up the Group Video Chat feature in Twitter Chats Get Social with Nurph's Video-to-Video Streaming. Just check out the video...

The Background Story

The first Twitter Community adopted a Nurph Channel in the Summer of 2013. Since then Nurph has continued to grow with more communities, more chats, and more tweets being published every month. In fact, @ReeceMastin even turned #Nurph in to a trending hashtag across Australia earlier this year.

Along the way some of Nurph's Communities have been hosting Google Hangouts alongside their Twitter Chats. This combines the engagement of live video with the networking effects of Twitter. But this dual delivery approach makes for a convoluted experience for the participants; they have to have to jump between a Google Hangout in one browser window, and a Twitter stream in another -- and this makes it hard to keep track of the conversation. Why should you have to leave the Twitter World to watch or participate in a Group Video Chat experience? Nurph's new Group Video Chat for Twitter bridges the divide between Google Hangouts and Twitter Chats for the Twitter Communities who run a Google Hangout and a Twitter Chat side-by-side. 

Nurph's new Group Video Chat specifications include:

  • Up to 8 simultaneous video participants
  • Moderation controls to choose who can appear on camera
  • "Exclusive" mode whereby only the people you Follow can chat in Nurph
  • "RSVP" mode for highly exclusive chats
  • Screen-sharing (via SplitCam on PC, or ManyCam on Mac)
  • Full Twitter #Hashtag Integration
  • Audience measurement
  • Statistics
  • Full Replay & Recording of the video and the tweets

Further to this, Nurph enables the chat host to schedule a chat to be On Air and recorded. Once the chat has finished, the tweets and the video will be recorded in a replay, just like this: 

This offers an incredible new opportunity for sharing and recording knowledge. Just imagine a tutor hosting an online course through their Nurph Channel with a group of students. Each each session can be recorded for people to review and share even after the session has ended.

Feedback

  • Not just as a solution to Twitter + G+, it seems like a better alternative to #meerkat, if I may dare to suggest.
    @joshmccormack
  • @Nurph is a marriage of Hangouts and Twitter chats.
    @lee_e_carlson
  • Nurph is basically group meerkat... multiple video participants and group chat. its pretty fantastic.
    @ElGarnero
  • Love it- this is such a stellar format with the chat right below the video!
    @sprout_sarah
  • I feel like this is exactly what @Huffoto and I talked about meerkat lacking in.
    @RyanBMcBride

Use Cases

  • Are you a teacher? Use Nurph to broadcast and record your lessons
  • Using Periscope or Meerkat? Try a Nurph Channel for multiple video streams
  • Running a Twitter Chat? We think you'll love using Nurph

One More Thing…

Once you start chatting in a Nurph Channel you realise how awesome it would be to have your speech automatically converted in to tweets so that all the conversation can be Favorited, Retweeted, and shared across Twitter. And that's where the Speak & Tweet microphone comes in:

The Speak & Tweet microphone will enable you to chat away freely in a Nurph Channel and to have your speech automatically converted in to tweets -- "Shweetness! I'm luv'n that -- @jameseasterling". Follow @Nurph on Twitter for more news about the Speak and Tweet microphone soon.

Stay Tuned

We hope you'll enjoy using Group Video Chat for Twitter and look forward to chatting with you in the Nurph Channels. We'll have more news and innovative new Twitter technology for you soon.

@NeilCauldwell

Founder and CEO @Nurph


@Nurph's Week in Review -- 29/03/2015

There was lots of great news from Nurph this week!

Angel Funding

We recently announced that Nurph closed a third angel funding round to help with the upcoming Kickstarter campaign. This has been in the works since 2014. Check out the Big News blog post to find out more.

Group Video Chat for Twitter

Group Video Chat for Twitter is coming! We've had this on the roadmap for a very long time. We can't wait to launch this and take your Twitter Chat experience to the next level.

Speak & Tweet

A microphone that tweets what you say, you say?! That's right! It's coming in the Twitter Chat Revolution Kickstarter campaign.

#Nurph Trending in Australia

Reece Mastin (@reecemastin), platinum selling Australian recording artist and winner of X-Factor in Australia in 2011, used #Nurph for a Q&A Twitter Chat. This caused #Nurph to trend in Australia!

Doubling the Team

We're doubling the team! Two new team members are joining @DeanOakes91 and myself. We'll have Team pictures for you soon. Remember to follow @Nurph to get the latest info and pics! 

Tweets Per Month

March isn't even over yet but we've already had our best month on record for the number of tweets published by people using Nurph. Over 40,900 tweets have been published so far this month, and that's up from 39,535 in February.

Big Screen Nurphin'

@NikkiDRobertson tweeted about Nurph being up on the big screen at the TL Summit in Portland. It's incredible to see education Twitter Chats in the Nurph!

More News Soon!

We'll have much more news for you soon, so stay tuned!

@NeilCauldwell

Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Officer @Nurph

@Nurph's Big News -- Angel Funding, Next-Gen Nurph, Microphone!

Nurph closed it's first angel investment back in 2010. Another, smaller angel investment was closed in early 2014. And in the meantime the platform has been adopted by top companies like UPS, Xerox, & Buffer, and hundreds of Twitter Communities, to publish tens of thousands of tweets-per-month. And the feedback is incredible.

Today we're announcing that Nurph closed a third round of angel funding and is developing two incredible new products -- a "Next-Gen Nurph" that will revolutionize Twitter Chats, and a "Speak & Tweet" microphone that will tweet what you say.

Angel Funding Round

The company closed a third round of funding, with UK-based angel investor Ravi Lal-Sarin leading the round. The round has been in the works since late 2014 and the paperwork finally closed this month (March 2015).

Now we're working away on the Next-Gen Nurph and expanding the team in preparation for the upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

Next-Generation Nurph: Twitter Group Video Chat

So far the Nurph platform has been built for text-based Twitter Chats. Twitter Chats have been around for years, but only a small proportion of Twitter Users participate in them, and in their current format they've reached a plateau. But there's huge potential there for creating real-time group conversations for niche, local topics, all the way up to highly followed, A-list celebrity chats. Twitter Chats need to be taken to the next level.

We're launching "Next-Gen Nurph" to revolutionize Twitter Chats. Next-Gen Nurph will offer live group video and audio streaming within the Nurph Channels. As a participant in a Nurph Channel you'll be able to instantly fire-up a live video stream from your computer or mobile device to chat with your Friends and to broadcast to your Followers. This is alongside one killer feature...

"Next-Gen Nurph" will transcribe and tweet the things that people say on camera, in real-time. Check out the prototype "#InTheNurph" TV show to see a demonstration of the technology in action:

These new features will turn the Nurph Channels into Online Talk Shows, with a host and several guests streaming live on video, and an unlimited number of Twitter Users fulfilling the role of a studio audience. The audience will be able to interact by Favoriting and Retweeting the guests' comments, as well as tweeting in their own questions via the Channel #Hashtag.

We're announcing a partnership with @SimpleWeb who will be working on development of the video streaming layer of Next-Gen Nurph.

Speak & Tweet Microphone

Further to this, Nurph is launching brand new hardware to complement "Next-Gen Nurph". Dubbed the "Speak and Tweet", it's a wireless microphone that will connect to your smartphone to transcribe & tweet the things that you say.

We recently received the first 3D print of the microphone, produced by @Digits2Widgets.

Nurph has teamed up with @BenPerman, designer of Twettle, (as seen on Wired) for the 3D renderings of the Speak and Tweet.

What's Next?

Nurph is launching a huge Kickstarter campaign as vehicle for the "Twitter Chat Revolution". The campaign will encompass the launch of both Next-Gen Nurph and the Speak and Tweet microphone. Want to be the first to know about the launch? Subscribe to the newsletter.

It's an incredibly exciting time for Nurph. Stay tuned for more news soon, and I look forward to seeing you Nurphin' it up in the Nurph Channels!

@NeilCauldwell

Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Officer @Nurph

@Nurph's Year in Review -- 2014

2014 was a fantastic year of growth for Nurph, and it's time to share the amazing progress that was made throughout the year. Key metrics are growing year-on-year by up to 2,102%, "to Nurph" is appearing as a verb in tweets, highly regarded companies have hosted chats, and much more.

Statistics

  • Chats
    • 2013: 46
    • 2014: 1,013
  • Tweets
    • 2013: 38,651
    • 2014: 276,438
  • Nurphers
    • 2013: 761
    • 2014: 3,275

Year-on-year, the number of chats grew by 2,102%, tweets published by 615%, and Nurphers by 330%. "Nurphers" are the number of unique Twitter Users who both log-in AND participate in a Twitter Chat via Nurph throughout the year.

In October 2014 we reached a yearly peak of 36,000+ tweets published for the month, which is almost as many as the number of tweets published by Nurph throughout the whole of 2013.  

Now there are 225 Nurph Channels with chat sessions recorded on them (think of these as Nurph Channels that have been "inhabited" by Twitter Communities), some of the chats have had 600+ Replays, and #STLChat reached 1,000+ Replays for an individual chat.

Highlights

Feedback

Nurph continued to receive incredible feedback throughout 2014. Here is just a tiny sample of the feedback tweets Nurph received over the year:

In fact it was tricky to pick just a few tweets to include, and it barely tells the full story. That's why we've created "Year in Tweets 2014" to highlight a further sample of the feedback Nurph received in the year. Check it out.

    What's Next?

    2014 was fantastic for Nurph, but we're going even bigger in 2015. More chats, more tweets, and a huge KickStarter campaign to help raise awareness and further funding for the exciting Nurph plans. You're going to love it!

    See you in the Nurph

    @NeilCauldwell

    Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Officer @Nurph


    @Nurph's Year in Tweets -- 2014

    In 2014 Nurph received some very kind tweets from the Nurphers. Here is a sample of some of the tweets on a month-by-month basis. Thanks for the kind tweets, everyone! 

    January

    February

    March

    April

    May

    June

    July

    August

    September

    October

    November

    December

    A big thank you to all the passionate Nurphers who tweeted kind words about Nurph throughout this year. It's fantastic to see Nurph improving your Twitter Chat experience!

    See you in the Nurph

    @NeilCauldwell

    Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Officer @Nurph



    @Nurph's Update: Huge News for 2015!

    Hi Nurphers! We have some very exciting news for you. In 2015 Nurph is launching a huge KickStarter campaign! 

    Also...

    Nurphin' USA

    Nurph LLC has been incorporated in the US to facilitate some of our goals for 2015. We can't wait to tell you more about this.

    Brand Ambassadors

    Nurph is lucky to have three new Brand Ambassadors on board! Please meet & tweet @vegecomgirl, @TeriMKojetin, and @EmmaCunningham who join @MariaDuron as Nurph Brand Ambassadors! Got a question about using Nurph for your Twitter Chats? The Brand Ambassadors are the experts!

    Positive Feedback

    The positive feedback continues! Thank you for all the kind tweets.

    More News Soon!

    Nurph has come a long way in 2014, and 2015 is going to be even more exciting for Nurph and the World of Twitter Chats! Stay tuned for more news in early in 2015.

    See you in the Nurph!

    @NeilCauldwell and @Nurph


    @Nurph's Up: 28/11/2014 -- A Great Way to Go!

    @Nurph said: Thanks to Daniel @Buffer for this kind tweet about Nurph being a great way to go for Twitter Chats!

    @Eggdough said: @Nurph and @Buffer is a great way to go for scheduling tweets!

    @Nurph said: @Eggdough yes! You can use @Buffer to schedule tweets in advance to announce and orchestrate your Twitter Chat :)

    What's new in Nurph?

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight just a few of the chats happening in the Nurph throughout the week. Check out the Replays!]

    Cool Community

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight interesting things that have happened around Nurph.]

    Have you started using a combination of Buffer and Nurph for your Twitter Chats? Manage your pre-scheduled tweets with @Buffer, chat in real-time in @Nurph!

    Sweet Tweets

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight kind tweets about Nurph throughout the week.]

    Bug Fixes

    - More news soon. What this space!

    New Features

    - More news soon here too. What this space!

    Until Next Time

    See you in the Nurph! 

    @Nurph


    @Nurph's Up: 21/11/2014 -- Best Tool for the Job!

    @Nurph said: Thanks @SocialPiq for this kind tweet about Nurph being a good tool for Twitter Chats!

    @Eggdough said: @Nurph and just think of all the improvements we have on the way for the Nurph Channels!

    @Nurph said: @Eggdough oh yes, they ain't seen Nurphin' yet! ;)

    What's new in Nurph?

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight just a few of the chats happening in the Nurph throughout the week. Check out the Replays!]   

    Cool Community

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight interesting things that have happened around Nurph.]

    Have you started tweeting the archives to your Twitter Chats yet?

    Sweet Tweets

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight kind tweets about Nurph throughout the week.]

    Bug Fixes

    - More news soon. What this space!

    New Features

    - More news soon here too. What this space!

    Until Next Time

    See you in the Nurph! 

    @Nurph

    @Nurph's Up: 14/11/2014 -- Game Changer

    @Nurph said: Have you changed your Twitter Chat game yet? Get in the Nurph! Thanks @QBOSarahK!  

    @Eggdough said: @Nurph it's game, set, and chat! 

    @Nurph said: /play rimshot

    What's new in Nurph?

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight just a few of the chats happening in the Nurph throughout the week. Check out the Replays!]   

    Cool Community

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight interesting things that have happened around Nurph.]

    Check out Nurph's very own video tutorials & tips for hosting Twitter Chats!

    @FBergthorson: more ideas on twitter chats - http://nurph.com/site/tips 

    Sweet Tweets

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight kind tweets about Nurph throughout the week.]

    Bug Fixes

    - More news soon. What this space!

    New Features

    - More news soon here too. What this space!

    Until Next Time

    See you in the Nurph! 

    @Nurph


    @Nurph's Up: 07/01/2014 -- Love It!

    @Nurph said: We're making chats easy! Thanks @EagleEyedEditor for the lovely tweet :) 

    @Eggdough said: @Nurph hopefully @EagleEyedEditor is referring to Nurph as a platform rather than you specifically.

    @Nurph said: @Eggdough don't pretend you don't feel the same way.

    What's new in Nurph?

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight just a few of the chats happening in the Nurph throughout the week. Check out the Replays!]   

    Cool Community

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight interesting things that have happened around Nurph.]

    Are you "Nurphing"? Check out Nurph as a verb! 

    Sweet Tweets

    [@Eggdough's Note: In this section we highlight kind tweets about Nurph throughout the week.]

    Bug Fixes

    - More news soon. What this space!

    New Features

    - More news soon here too. What this space!

    Until Next Time

    See you in the Nurph! 

    @Nurph