Internet debates are as old as the internet, itself, but what if you could take them live and vote on the winner? BoutThat is a new app by the California-based developer, 1-800-N0TH1NG that mixes live video with gamification elements to create an interactive debate platform. BoutThat aims to turn online arguments into a live video game and users can debate about whatever they want in front of a live audience.
“Millions of flame wars happen every day on the internet—on social networks, comments sections, and forums, and all of us have watched,” said Matt Mason, head of 1-800-N0TH1NG in a statement. “But the way we argue online has been broken since day one. It’s like bare-knuckle fighting. It’s unregulated, it happens in spaces where it doesn’t belong, and is not pretty. However, it’s hard to look away. We asked ourselves here at 1-800 if there was a better way for good people to disagree on the internet. The answer is BoutThat.”
BoutThat, launching Tuesday on iOS, lets players pick any topic and challenge other players to a face-to-face debate via livestream. Viewers of “bouts” can then vote for either player in real-time. The winner is the player who has the most votes at the end of the debate. “Because you can see the person you are arguing with, and you know an audience is watching you, our hope is people will be able to feel more empathy here for the person they are talking with, and not resort to the name calling and mudslinging that happens so many text-based, anonymized comments sections,” Mason added.
The new app launches on the heels of Bbl, 1-800-N0TH1NG’s mobile app that invites users to post trivia challenges, using the device camera to record themselves asking the question. At launch, BoutThat‘s will have three debates available at a time, in an effort to “concentrate viewership around a small number of debates.” As the audience grows, players will be able to unlock new rooms and create more debates, the company said.
Although debating is what the app was designed for, BoutThat has endless possibilities. “It might be rap battles, it might be staring contests, it might be improv comedy,” says Mason. “We’re looking forward to seeing what people do with this engine. There has never been anything quite like this in the market before, which incorporates two livestreams with real-time feedback from viewers. It’s pushing the boundaries of this technology to create something that we hope changes culture for the better.”
Here’s hoping for some creative branded content like say, a belching contest between Coke and Pepsi, which is apparently not out of the question. “We’re hoping BoutThat sparks great conversations between groups that might not normally hear from each other,” Mason told [a]listdaily. “That could be people at different ends of the spectrum on any subject, or it could be a brand and its target audience. As we think about the road map for BoutThat, brand integration is something we are spending a lot of time on. There are so may ways you could things here that just aren’t possible on other platforms. As long as it’s fun to watch and a great experience for our users, we’re open to it. “
