这款应用可能是电视的未来

在大多数日子的下午3点和9点，全美各地的千禧一代都会停止手头正在做的事（无论他们是在工作，参加宴会，还是在喝酒），转而收看每天两次的HQ Trivia直播。这款移动应用是一档直播的12个问题游戏节目，通常会吸引多达40万参与者——超过美国有线新闻网(CNN)白天电视观众的一半，尽管它其实并没有社交网络，并且将用户生成的内容保持在最低限度，更不用说每天有98%的时间都是离线的。

HQ似乎无视移动视频制作的一切规则，但越来越多的评论家认为它可能是“电视的未来”。

这款应用是由视频分享应用Vine的联合创始人打造而成。 Vine被Twitter收购，后来被关闭。HQ的魅力在于它挖掘了一个令人上瘾的利基市场：琐事。除此之外，它的另一大创新是将实况视频游戏化，用真金白银为参与者提供奖励（奖金通常在1千美元到1万美元之间，由赢家分享，不管赢家有多少人），并且邀请一些富有魅力的节目主持人轮流主持——其中包括备受喜爱的“智力测试老爹”斯科特·罗戈夫斯基——任何一位参与者都有可能一炮而红。但正如《精灵宝可梦Go》这类游戏所示，任何轰动一时的新玩意都有可能成为明日黄花。这种良好氛围能够持续下去吗？

首席执行官鲁斯·尤斯图夫已经遇到了麻烦。他在一篇传阅甚广的文章中威胁要解雇罗戈夫斯基。（不久之后，两人在Twitter上发布了一张气氛愉快的合影，对这个过节一笑置之。）就在这款应用的制作商据称正在寻求1亿美元估值之际，竞争正在变得日益激烈：匿名社交网络Yik Yak的一位联合创始人，为iOS和安卓设备打造了一款名为The Q的竞品。不难想象Facebook也在酝酿打造一款类似应用。HQ或许非常棒，但它很容易模仿。这一点是毫无疑问的。（财富中文网）

译者：Kevin 

Most Days at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. millennials across the country stop what they’re doing—be it work, dinner parties, or drinks—and tune into twice-daily broadcast of HQ Trivia. The mobile app, a live 12 question game show, regularly draws about 4000,000 players—more than half the daytime audience of CNN. That’s despite having virtually no social network, keeping user-generated content to a minimum, and being off-line 98% of the day.

HQ has seemingly defied every rule for mobile hitmaking, and yet increasingly, reviewers gush it just might be “the future of TV.”

The app was built by the cofounders of Vine，the looping video service acquired (and later shuttered) by Twitter. Its charm lies in mining an addictive niche: trivia. Add to that the program’s gamification of live video, real money payouts (typically $1,000 to $10,000 split between however many winners), and a rotating cast of charismatic show hosts—including the beloved “Quiz Daddy” Scot Rogowsky—and you’ve got yourself a viral sensation. But we’ve seen what can happen to faddish playthings (see Pokemon Go). Can the good vibes last?

CEO Rus Yusupov has already run into trouble, threatening to fire Rogowsky in a much-read article. (The two laughed it off in a jovial Twitter photo soon after.) And even as the app’s maker reportedly seeks a $100 million valuation, competition is mounting: A cofounder of Yik Yak whipped up a competitor, The Q，for iOS and Android, and it’s easy to imagine Facebook making a knockoff too. HQ may be brilliant, but it’s straightforward to imitate. On that, there’s no question.