Former Twitter VP takes texting public with Talkshow app for iOS

Talkshow is a new social networking app from ex-Twitter VP Michael Sippy. The app is a mashup of WhatsApp and Twitter. Screenshots of chats are often shared on social networking, news and entertainment sites. Talkshow hopes to replace these by directly embedding the chatrooms themselves. Each room is called a Talkshow, and hosts can invite users to a show. The app suggests TV shows, news, sports and politics as some topics, but users can chat about anything under the sun. Each Talkshow is invite only, which means randoms from the Internet cannot come in and crash the party. This also allows for a closed and curated discussion. Randoms from the internet can like, share or select from a pool of preset reactions. Texting within the app supports multiple languages, and even stickers using custom keyboards. The Talkshows can be embedded in web pages, or social network feeds. Users can add friends from Facebook, Twitter or their Contact list. The embedded Talkshows can either show the texts in real time, or just display a Talkshow in its entirety after the texting has ended. The app also offers a permalink on the web site for every Talkshow hosted, so interested parties can follow the conversation at any later time. Talkshow is available on the App Store.