#PONCHO WEATHERCAT COMMANDS HOW TO#

Unfortunately, Facebook Messenger and its defective launch examples have soured some people on the whole concept of chatbots. This in turn led people to quit using bots in frustration, and go back to traditional app and website interfaces.įacebook Messenger bets on bots (full panel) #TCDisrupt People didn’t know what text commands triggered what functions in apps, leading the bots to misunderstand users’ replies. When Facebook launched its chatbot platform at its F8 conference, it seemed half-baked. While lauded as the future of interfaces, few chatbots have seen widespread use. Together, these new features could make chatbots more inviting to the general public who might have been baffled before.

And if customers opt in, developers will be able to connect these customers’ accounts to Messenger accounts to allow more seamless communication with them.

#PONCHO WEATHERCAT COMMANDS HOW TO#

People can now rate bots with one to five stars to teach developers how to improve, though there’s no word on the chatbot analytics Facebook has promised. Messenger bots can also now send videos, audio, GIFs, and files so they can encompass wider range of use cases. So today Facebook Messenger is giving chatbot developers new “Quick Reply” buttons and persistent menu options to make their bots easier to navigate. After launching as a bot for Facebook Messenger earlier this month, weathercat picks up some cashĮditor's Note: Our annual Vator Splash Spring 2016 conference is around the corner on at the historic Scottish Rite Center in Oakland.“What do I type?” is the big question making chatbots hard to use. Speakers include Nigel Eccles (CEO & Co-founder, FanDuel), Andy Dunn (Founder & CEO, Bonobos), Mitch Kapor (Founder, Kapor Center for Social Impact) Founders of NextDoor, Handy, TubeMogul, TaskEasy Investors from Khosla Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Kapor Capital, Greylock, DFJ, IDG, IVP and more.

Poncho, the precious orange 'weathercat' bot developed by betaworks, announced today that it has raised a $2 million seed round of funding led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures with participation from Greycroft Partners, Comcast Ventures LP, Venture51 Capital Partners, and RRE Ventures.Īlso participating in the round is Poncho's creator betaworks, a New York City startup studio and seed stage venture capital firm that not only builds and invests in products, but has also acquired and relaunched them.

In July 2012, for example, the firm purchased social news aggregator Digg for a reported $500,000. I joke about Yo, but mentioning it gives an idea of what the team behind Poncho is all about: “thin content.” Companies it has invested in include Everlane, GroupMe, Kickstarter, Medium, Path, Stocktwits, TweetDeck, Venmo, and (quite possibly the greatest Silicon Valley technology of all time) Yo.Ī year later, it purchased bookmarking tool and news reader Instapaper from the app’s original creator, Marco Arment.īetaworks also makes seed investments (typically between $100K and $200K). Most companies in the business of content would balk at the idea that their content is “thin,” but for Poncho it’s a key differentiating factor. The company believes that this quick, light content, when provided on-demand and personalized to the needs of the consumer, can be just as valuable as what you might call “thick content.” There’s something to this.

Poncho weathercat commands