Businesses that have used Spreecast for video chat or larger forum discussions got some bad news last week when the company announced it will shut down the service effective July 14, 2016.
The platform, unlike popular video chat options like Skype or Google Hangouts, didn’t require any software or integration with a specific platform in order for people to use it. This could have made it an attractive option for businesses looking to connect with a variety of different people for video chats. For instance, online consultants could offer it as an easy option for video chats with clients so they wouldn’t have to download software onto their computer or sign up for a Google Plus account in order to have a conversation. All you needed was an email address and a Web browser.
But the unique video chat service didn’t exactly catch on as the Spreecast team had hoped. CEO Jeff Fluhr shared in a blog post announcing the shut down:
“We originally launched Spreecast in late 2011 as a destination for people all over the world to connect and converse about shared interests, current events and educational topics. Many different people and companies gave Spreecast a try and some became habitual users. Over time, we had a diverse group of users including life coaches, podcasters, media companies, think tanks, social groups, religious groups and celebrities. In the end, however, we were not able to make Spreecast a viable business.”
The company had explored a number of possible revenue models from the time it started out in beta. Some of those included taking a percentage when users wanted to charge for access to a Spreecast and charging extra for some premium features.
Actions to Take Based on Spreecast News
Subscribers who don’t have any events scheduled prior to July 14 are encouraged to cancel their subscriptions before that date. If you do have events scheduled prior, however, you can still use the platform until then. But anything scheduled after July 14 will be cancelled. And Spreecast will refund pro-rata payments so that subscribers aren’t charged for service they weren’t able to use.
In addition, Spreecast users can download all their archived Spreecast events free of charge. Just go to your account settings, find a video you want to save and click download to save it if you want to access it for future use.
Image: Spreecast
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