Made-in-India micro-blogging platform – Koo – has released a first-of-its-kind ‘Voices of India’ Report which unravels interesting insights into how Indians across linguistic diversities think, feel and express themselves online on topics most relevant to them. The Report is representative of user sentiments on the multi-lingual platform, which has witnessed 20mn+ downloads since its inception in March 2020.
On the Koo App – #Covid19, #Tokyo2020, #IPL2021, #UPElections2022, #LakhimpurKheri trended the most among users. The platform had launched a slew of initiatives during the lethal second wave of the coronavirus to make it easier for people to find leads for hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, etc. and users alerted their communities and shared several precautionary measures.
Politics and sports also garnered in much traction on the platform with #UPElections2022, #Tokyo2020 and #IPL2021 trending – as users shared their thoughts and opinions across languages. Virat Kohli and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra were among the most mentioned celebrities on the platform, as fans sent in their love and support to their sporting heroes.
The Voices of India Report reflects the diversity which exists in the thought-processes of people from different regions as they share thoughts and converse online in their mother tongue. As a platform which democratizes the voices of Indians, the Koo App enables expression across languages and heralds events and moments that India celebrates.
Poetry & Politics for Hindi Speakers
Poetry generated a lot of fervor in the Hindi community on the platform, as users unleashed their creativity through shayaris, ghazals, dohas, and kavitas. Poetry and literature created a lot of chatter with users leveraging the platform to emote succinctly through poems – enhancing the cultural and linguistic heritage of their communities and increasing their reach. In fact, veteran actor Anupam Kher’s poetic Koo on the hypocrisy of humans was one of the most ‘Liked’ Koos in the Hindi community. Likewise, politics too witnessed immense traction among Hindi speakers with #UPElections2022 and #LakhimpurKheri trending on the platform.
Cinema Down South
The overpowering aura of the South film industry and the charisma of regional movie stars was in evidence on the Koo App in 2021. The Report points out that Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, who passed away in October, was the most mentioned celebrity among the Kannada community on the platform – as fans poured their love and offered condolences on his tragic demise. RRR – one of the most awaited films starring NTR Jr, Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt, trended on Koo among the Telugu community, with users sharing their views and excitement in their mother tongue.
Celebration of Regional Icons & Festivals
Users across India love and herald their political leaders and celebrated cultural icons. As a platform which enables Indians to connect with their respective language communities, the Koo App witnessed the celebration of multiple heroes from across regions. The birth anniversary of the legendary Maratha Queen – Ahilyabai Holkar – witnessed significant traction among the Marathi speakers on the platform, who paid rich tributes to her valor and achievements. Legendary warrior Sangolli Rayanna, philosopher and composer Kanaka Dasa, and the founder of Bangalore – Kempe Gowda, were heralded by Kannada users of the platform on their respective birth anniversaries. Likewise, the Telugu community on Koo paid tributes to renowned lyricist, Padma Shri SS Sastry on his demise. Unique events like Bathukamma – Telangana’s flower festival, had people from the region celebrating by sharing engaging content and holding conversations in Telugu.
The Koo App is currently available in 10 languages – Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi and English. It recently attained the milestone of 20 million downloads, and is poised to reach 100 million downloads in the next one year’s time.
