Houseparty is a new app that allows users to join video calls with up to eight of their friends. Similar to the AIM chat rooms of the late 90s, Houseparty is growing rapidly in popularity with Generation Z. According to a recent Forbes article, the app currently has one million daily active users, 60 percent under the age of 24.

The app is easy to use and straight-forward in functionality. Once you set up an account with a username and password, you are asked to add a phone number. This is how you add contacts.

Once you’re in the chat mode of Houseparty, you can invite friends to join your ‘party.’ Users already set up as your contacts will be notified that you are ‘in the house’ any time you open the app, making it easy to join in on conversations.

After you are ‘in the house’ with friends, the app works as a video chat room. Any friends or friends of friends can join the chat unless the room is set to ‘locked’ and only the people currently in the room can be in the chat.

How can higher ed use this popular app?

Houseparty is a personal app that requires an effective strategy for those in higher education wanting to utilize it.

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The app could be useful for schools engaging with prospective undergraduate students. With such a young demographic, universities could stand out from their competitors by meeting prospects where they already hang out. Schools could also use the app to create personal interactions between students and staff who can answer their questions.

Admissions counselors or program directors can schedule times for up to eight students to join them on the app, giving students a chance to engage in face-to-face, small group conversation. This creates a space for casual conversation and opportunities for live Q&As, campus tours, how-tos and other helpful engagement sessions with prospective students.

Schools should cautiously leverage the app due to its level of privacy. However, for schools looking to try something new and engage students, Houseparty is an app worth considering.

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Watch the Houseparty demo on their site for a quick run-through of how to use the app.

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