Just recently, I opened a Bubbly account after I heard great things about it from blogger friends Noemi and Jim Paredes. At first I thought it was just another nice medium for social networking that had an audio component. But today, I learned it had the potential for doing more.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Let me tell you first what Bubbly is.
Bubbly is a voice app. It’s sort of a hybrid between Twitter and Instagram. Like Twitter which has a limit of 140 characters, it’s got a 90 second limit to audio recording. And while its picture quality is nowhere near Instagram’s with all its filter options, Bubbly is handy as a talk-and-publish-on-the-fly app, just like Instagram which lets you snap a picture and post immediately.
It’s so simple to record anything. Just pull down on the bottom icon with the microphone and there is a 3-2-1 countdown before the recording starts. At any time, if you make a mistake, you can start over. For iOS devices, click the “x” on the upper lefthand corner. For Android devices, just click the “back” key. Before posting, you can also use the SHARE icon to post to Facebook and Twitter. Sharing can also be done even after the post is published.
Background music and voice filters make your voice post more interesting. Depending on your post’s subject, you can have comedic music, coffee shop ambient music, romantic strains, even Bollywood. Voice filters change your normal voice to something else. Make it high- or low-pitched; put in an echo; sound like Mickey Mouse; and just have fun with the rest of the filters.
The Discover feature lets you find other Bubbly users in the Philippines and in other countries. Trending shows the users with the most engagement. Celebrities tags showbiz personalities. Search by hashtag or by top user per country.
That’s my own home page above.
The latest Bubbly version now comes with animated stickers (AND SOUND!) that you can use to express your feelings in the comment section. If you are familiar with Line, Viber, Kakao Talk and other similar messenger apps, you’d recognize this feature. But unlike the others which are stills, the ones of Bubbly move and make sounds.
Bubbly is downloadable from the App Store and Google Play. There are 2 options: free and premium. The free version allows you to do voice posts, follow other Bubbly users and comment on their posts for free. You also get a 30-day premium subscription to follow premium users. After the free trial, you may opt to subscribe for 6 months to continue having full access or use the free social features of Bubbly.
Here is a voice post I recorded today:
But there is more. And it truly expanded my appreciation of Bubbly.
Yesterday, I made a recording just before I went out with my son to a spa for a foot massage. When our spa time was done, I opened Bubbly to check for comments. One comment on that post came from a male voice telling me that blind people were good at foot massages. But what stunned me was how he closed by saying he was planning to get work doing foot massages because he, too, was blind.
That was when I realized that Bubbly indeed has the advantage when it comes to visually impaired people because it was AUDIO! Just imagine the possibilities. The blind can join in the online conversation because of the Voice Comments feature.
Download Bubbly on your smartphone and follow me (my username is @PhilBeat). For those on feature phones, join me in the conversation by dialing **8877 on your phone.
You sound like you are pitching Bubbly, what a hard sell!
I don't pitch. I actually use Bubbly. A lot. And if you don't think an audio app is not a wonderful social media tool for blind people to connect with seeing people, like I discovered, then that is just too bad. You don't have to hard sell something that actually has potential.