Talkshow shuts down its chat-in-public app on December 1st

If you tried Talkshow's public-facing chatrooms but left wondering why they were necessary, you're not alone. The startup is shutting down its service after determining that it won't be "big enough" to have its intended effect. As of November 1st, Talkshow's iOS app is no longer available in the App Store. You can participate in conversations until November 8th, when everything will revert to a read-only mode. You'll have the option of exporting your chats after that, but you'll have to act quickly -- everything will turn off on December 1st.

As for the factors behind that low popularity? Like other struggling social services, it may be just a matter of Talkshow trying something that wasn't especially unique or vital. People have public chats all the time on Facebook and Twitter, and moving them to a messaging app format isn't necessarily advantageous. And of course, many people prefer still like to keep group chats private so that they can share sensitive info in confidence. Talkshow's harassment-free environment and focus on topics helped it stand out from the crowd, but those perks might not have been enough to cultivate a sizeable following.