TECH TALK: A tool for remote learning as world goes into quarantine.

Byline: Mutaher Khan

There is panic all around as new cases of novel coronavirus surface every passing hour, triggering meltdown of markets all around the globe. But unlike the previous black swans, the severity of crisis transcends the world of finance, with manufacturing and services becoming major casualties.

Schools and universities have already been closed, conferences cancelled and flights grounded. This has forced many to adopt remote work while local educational institutions are testing e-learning.

And to make that transition from real to virtual a little smoother, there is a startup. Plutwo.com is a live streaming platform that lets experts organise or attend webinars/online sessions using simple software.

If you are a learner, all you have to do is sign up with an affiliated account (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google), add details like phone number and country, enrol in anything with a simple tap. But in order to become an expert, you have to apply first for that profile, which will be vetted by Plutwo's team. Once given the access, you can simply create a session using a form with stuff like cover photo, timings, date, agenda, title and the per head fee (if there is any) - on top of which it automatically adds a commission - and pay with one of the listed digital channels.

If approved by the admin, you get a few more tools to conduct the event online and get access to a dashboard to track audience, payments among other things. The live session has chat and Q and A options while the presenter can share their screen or slides, distribute handouts, conduct polls etc.

Maybe you are wondering why there is a need for such a streaming platform in the first place? YouTube, Instagram, Facebook all offer this service, that too at no cost while potentially exposing to a much broader audience.

'First of all, they don't have any monetisation channels other than advertising which, in the case of YouTube, requires having at least a 1,000 subscribers [and 4,000 watch hours]. Plus, there is always a lack of professionalism on those platforms as viewers can often be seen commenting on the speaker's attributes such as looks. Ours, on the other hand, allows a more closed environment,' exAAplains Founder Fatima Rizwan.

Keeping in mind Plutwo's target market of Gen Z, one can't help but think of another platform which has swept across that age group: TikTok. Yes, it has the same problems as other social media giants regarding monetisation and reaching target...