Facebook Launches Audio Rooms As It Tackles Twitter Spaces
They say technology continues to evolve and any product can be made better through improvements and innovations, but it appears to have been taken to a new level as Twitter and Facebook fight for audiences on their platforms as a strategy to marketing of their products.
Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to launch audio products, including built-in chat rooms, as a strategy to effectively compete with Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse, which are incredibly awesome, at least. based on public comments.
Already, Facebook has started rolling out live audio rooms as well as podcast discovery. The Live Audio Rooms feature is open on iOS for certain public figures and Facebook groups in the US and can have up to 50 speakers.
“Live audio rooms on Facebook allow you to discover, listen to and participate in live conversations with public figures, experts and others on topics that matter to you. Public figures can invite friends, followers, verified public figures, or any other listener. in the room to be a speaker. The host can invite speakers in advance or during the conversation. There can be up to 50 speakers, and there is no limit to the number of listeners, ”Facebook said in a blog post.
Live audio rooms started by people or groups you follow will always appear in the Facebook news feed, above the Stories panel. During the session, users will also be notified when friends or followers join the chat, Facebook said.
The user interface of Facebook’s audio rooms bears a similarity to the Clubhouse and Twitter spaces, with profile pictures of the hosts in the room at the top, then listeners below.
Facebook added, “Listeners can also offer support and show appreciation to the live audio room public figure host by sending stars, which propels these listeners to ‘# 1’. The “front row” is a special section that highlights the people who sent stars, so hosts can recognize supporters (and maybe even greet them during the conversation!). Listeners can purchase Star Packs during the conversation and send them out at any time.
The company is also launching new podcast support options, which will allow users to discover and listen to podcasts, without having to exit the app.
“People can listen to podcasts while browsing Facebook, through a mini-player, or a full-screen player experience with playback options, including with their phone screen turned off. People can listen to some podcast makers on their Facebook pages, as well as in the news feed, ”he said.
Facebook also pointed out that there is more to come in its audio journey. “… Is just the start of our audio journey. Going forward, we’re working with creators who will use our audio tools to develop and launch Soundbites – creative, short-lived audio clips, ”he said.
The clubhouse was first launched after Twitter Spaces. Platforms are becoming increasingly competitive as they allow users to discuss important issues in live sessions, thus limiting the requirements for live studio appearances in mainstream media.
Some of the tech revolutions in other tech companies include: LinkedIn from Microsoft Corp. and Slack from Salesforce.com Inc. are working on their own audio room competitors. Twitter offers Twitter spaces, which function as live audio rooms. And last week, Spotify announced its live audio offering called Greenroom.
All of these services will face stiff competition, a situation that could be made worse by the gradual easing of restrictions on Covid-19. More and more people are returning to offline activities for their social and entertainment needs. Clubhouse downloads topped 9 million in May, but fell to less than one million by April, said Naomi Nix, as quoted by Bloomberg.
However, after the company added a version of the app for Android phones, downloads rose again. According to SensorTower data, Clubhouse had reached around 5.3 million downloads in the first 15 days of June alone.
It is of course possible that the audio craze will wane or be relegated to a stable but not very exciting corner of the global tech industry. But there is a compelling privacy to audio that can appeal to people in ways that video, text, and other digital communication tools just don’t. Even old-fashioned radio shows still attract listeners.
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