Facebook’s Clubhouse competitor, Live Audio Rooms and podcasts, is rolling out today in the US.
Today, the company announced that some American public figures are using Facebook’s top iOS app (however, people can join from iOS and Android). Anyone can be invited as a speaker, and up to 50 people can speak simultaneously.
The number of listeners allowed is unlimited-this is a great opportunity for clubs that limit the size of the room.
It also has other great features, such as notifications when your friends or followers join the room, and enables real-time subtitles. There will be a raise hand button asking you to join the conversation, and you can interact throughout the chat.
Twitter’s real-time audio feature Twitter Spaces has subtitles, but Clubhouse does not yet.
Who can create rooms?
Within the group, the administrator can control who can create a room: moderators, group members, or other managers. Public group chats can be held both inside and outside the group, but private group chats are only open to members. Alternatively, the host can also use the direct donation button when they appear in the chat to select the charity or fundraising event they want to support.
Again, this looks like a directly developed feature to solve Clubhouse’s most important use cases and avoid friction losses. (Many clubhouse creators organize in-app fundraising events, but they need to direct people to external links to promote donations.
Podcasts are provided on the platform to support previous Verge reports. People can do so by listening to mini players or full players.
Live Audio Rooms are making their way stateside!
Podcasts are screen players with various playback controls, including the head to listen when the screen is off. You can find programs on specific podcast sites and news feeds, and you can reply to comment and bookmark.
Also, you can share your program plan to introduce automatic subtitles and editing features, allowing listeners to create and share their favorite clips.
Facebook is now rolling out Live Audio Rooms and podcasts in the US https://t.co/Bu37pmgagG pic.twitter.com/83VZrbddbo
— Gadgets 360 (@Gadgets360) June 21, 2021
All these features appeared a few days after Spotify launched its own live sound application, Greenroom; three months after Stage, The channel came to Discord; four months after Reddit Talk; about seven months after Twitter Spaces has started; about 15 months after the club opened.
According to reports, LinkedIn and Slack are developing their own versions of audio products, although the number of downloads and hype surrounding Clubhouse has been greatly reduced.
Unlike Clubhouse, which uses audio to access popular snapshots in Silicon Valley to attract early audiences, Facebook hopes to build a wider influencer network through Live Audio Rooms.
Cited public figures that can access this feature at the time of release include musicians (TOKiMONSTA, D Smoke, Kehlani); media figures (Joe Budden, DeRay McKesson); and athletes (Russell Wilson, Omarelov).
Joe Budden will also publish his podcast on Facebook. The audio room may or may not be true endurance, but Facebook seems determined to invest heavily in this area.
Image courtesy of TWiT Tech Podcast Network/YouTube