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Facebook is pushing the audio, launching a series of new features that will allow users to host audio conferences and podcasts, quickly, to compete with upcoming apps like Clubhouse.
Mark Zuckerberg, executive director of the world’s largest social media company for users, said Monday that he plans to deploy live audio rooms for its users, as well as new tools that would allow users to search, create and make money podcasts over the next three to six months.
He also announced the launch of a feature called “Soundbites,” where users can post or listen to short audio clips that will be displayed in a continuous stream, similar to his Reels video on Instagram.
“We believe audio will also be a first-class medium,” Zuckerberg said in a live interview with tech journalist Casey Newton on Monday. He added that the audio “allows for conversations in longer ways and exploring ideas,” but was also “accessible because you can do multiple tasks.”
The move is Facebook’s latest effort to copy popular products from its rivals afterwards ran to present new video conferencing features last April after the rise of Zoom and Google Hangouts as ways to organize meetings and socialize from home.
Audio products take advantage of the so-called “Zoom fatigue” – A frustration at having to be infinitely on camera – but also providing professionals who don’t have entertainment new ways to connect while the conference circuit remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In particular, the launch of Facebook could hurt the audio start-up Clubhouse, which became the fastest growing social media application in the world by providing a platform to discuss issues such as entrepreneurship, politics and the latest news events.
According to App Annie data, Clubhouse has surpassed 14 million downloads, but has suffered disruptions due to the influx of users from its servers.
Over the weekend, Clubhouse announced that it had secured a new round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with new investors DST Global and Tiger Global. The fundraiser gives the start-up, which only launched its product a year ago, a valuation of $ 4 billion, according to two people familiar with the situation, compared to $ 1 billion this January.
Facebook also points to Twitter, which this month launched the Clubhouse clone “Spaces” this month and the Reddit discussion forum, which advanced its upcoming “Reddit Talk” feature. Monday. Twitter previously tried to acquire Clubhouse for $ 4 billion, although discussions stalled, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
The shift to live audio, such as live streaming, poses challenges to content moderation given its real-time nature, at a time when Facebook is already under fire from U.S. regulators for its failures in the content police.
Additional reports of Miles Kruppa in San Francisco
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