WhatsApp has announced a series of updates to its “Communities” feature, which allows users to connect through group chats based on common interests, such as sports or musical tastes, for example.
The new events feature of WhatsApp gives community members an easy way to organize events and meetings in real time within group chats. “Thanks to events, it is now easier to plan meetings directly on WhatsApp, whether it’s a virtual meeting or a dinner to celebrate a birthday,” says WhatsApp in a blog post. “Anyone can create an event and others can respond so that the whole group knows who will attend.”
Events will be displayed in the group chat when announced, as well as in the group’s information section, so that members have a way to stay informed about upcoming activities or events. Members who sign up to attend (or participate) will also receive an automatic notification as a reminder when the event approaches.
The new feature of events gives greater versatility to communities to stay in touch, being especially useful for managing greater interaction and user participation. WhatsApp says that events will first arrive to groups that belong to a community, and will be extended to all groups in the coming months.
In addition, WhatsApp is also adding replies to announcement groups, so that administrators can get responses from their members, and users can get an idea of how the announcements are being received. Replies in announcement groups will provide another way to track community feedback, within a centralized flow. WhatsApp says this feature will also be rolled out in the coming months.
