iWorld
Random Chikibum win OML’s YouTube Comedy Hunt
NEW DELHI: Random Chikibum have been named as the first ever winners of Comedy Hunt, India’s first web hunt by Only Much Louder’s (OML) to find the next comedy stars on YouTube.
They survived cheeky tasks and difficult challenges posed by the mentors, week after week, yet were able to impress the toughest and most competitive comedy brigade throughout the competition.
The comedy veterans of YouTube and mentors All India Bakchod (AIB), Kanan Gill & Biswa Kalyan Rath, SnG Comedy, East India Comedy, Jose Covaco, Abish Mathew, Aditi Mittal and Shudh Desi Endings had set out on a three-month long journey to give way to new talent and provide infinite unique opportunities to the audience.
The aim was to find a team that will make you laugh every time with most creative and unique videos.
The hunt saw participation from all over India – with 1578 entries from over 60 cities out of which just 40 entries were shortlisted. YouTube creators and judges of Comedy Hunt then sifted through the entries and shortlisted comedycreators on the basis of originality and creativity of the video content, during the most exciting seven weeks of challenge round put up by the mentors for over two months.
Finally with weekly eliminations process, Weird Communications, Take 900, Funny Brownies, Forked Up and Random Chikibum emerged as the Top 5 Comedy Hunt contenders.
Announcing the winner, AIB said, “When we started AIB, comedy was lesser known and looked down upon. But today we have come a long way and with pit stops such as Comedy Hunt, the race for being the king of comedy is truly rewarding. We would like to congratulate Random Chikibum, who withstood the test of time and even after much scrutiny, made us laugh each time.”
YouTube India head of content and operations Satyanarayan Raghavan added, “Comedy Hunt is India’s first ever show on the online platform that inspires creativity. In our efforts to bring the new talent and unleash their potential on the YouTube platform, we associated with Comedy Hunt. We are extremely happy with the tremendous response that the contest generated on YouTube.”
Sharing the stage with their mentors AIB, Kanan & Biswa, SnG & East India Company, Random Chikibum showed their excitement after winning the race to be funny and hooked the audience by sharing their experiences and inspirations throughout the entire competition.
Only Much Louder (OML) director Ajay Nair said, “The invincible success of Comedy Hunt is a true evidence of the changing face of comedy in India. We would like to extend our congratulations to Random Chikibum for winning the competition. We believe these shining stars of today are now all geared up to make India laugh, adding to their daily dose of laughter.”
Random Chikibum added, “What started as a source of laughter in closed rooms is today a recognised art on the digital platform. Winning Comedy Hunt 2015 is a dream come true for us and we owe it to all our mentors who have extended their unconditional support. We believe this is just the beginning of our dream journey and we promise to make you laugh every time.”
As part of the winning team, Random Chikibum will now get a chance to share the platform with some of the biggestcomedy creators and will be associated with major brands through exclusive contracts. Besides this, the team will also be rewarded with high quality equipment gear that will enable them to create many more unique content rich videos on YouTube.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
