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Social audio apps are a new kind of platforms that have gained prominence after Clubhouse became popular. The app was catapulted to fame after it hosted Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk , and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg in separate sessions. Last March, Clubhouse was launched in beta as an invitation-only application, and three months later, it was generally made available to all iOS users.
Since June, the app has enabled several people to connect, congregate and discuss on its platform. Unlike other social media platforms, Clubhouse and its tribe of audio apps provide their users, fatigued by video-calls and meetings during the pandemic, a chance to connect sans camera. They help drive real-time voice conversations à la erstwhile conference calls. According to app analytics firms App Annie, Clubhouse app was downloaded over 9.6 million times in February alone.
While Clubhouse is the first app of its kind, other platforms are starting to experiment their own version of audio apps. Facebook introduced new audio and podcast features to its app last month. Reddit launched ‘Reddit Talk’ last month , and messaging app Telegram rolled out a similar feature .
Also Read | Community-led online radio meets live-streaming across Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces
Twitter has launched its own audio feature. Called Spaces, the feature is available within the Twitter app , alongside its Fleets feature launched last year. The micro-blogging site has a slightly different approach when it comes to how people can join conversations on Spaces. Unlike Clubhouse’s invite-only chat rooms, Spaces allows Twitter users to join discussions hosted by those they follow. On the Fleets sections, they will be able to view active discussion that they can click to join and listen in.
“The intimacy of voice adds a layer of empathy to conversations, making way for nuance, emotion, and meaning that are often lost in text,” Danny Singh, staff experience researcher at Twitter Spaces told The Hindu.
India, an early adopter
Audio apps have been adopted by a range of users, including stock traders, content creators and musicians, as the medium is convenient and flexible to interact with others globally. These video-free conversations cuts down the anxiety and pressure of being on camera. Moreover, according to a Reddit blog, live audio talk can be “more fun” than video or text chats. To this end, the platform will soon allow users to customise the look of the interface through emojis, background wallpapers and speaker profiles.
India is said to be an early adopter in audio apps with a fifth of users keen on using the technology in its current form, according to a study by research firm YouGov. Both Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces are already seeing growth amongst Indian users, ranging from screenwriters to entrepreneurs. Several Indian startups, including Fireside, Bakstage and Headfone, too, have rolled out audio-only chat apps.
Also Read | Clubhouse a sandbox for talking 'influencers'
The presence of different languages and a rich oral tradition in India shows “huge potential” for the growth of audio interactions, Singh noted.
Just like in contemporary social media, audio apps also face content moderation challenge. The explosive growth has drawn scrutiny over how the apps will handle problematic content, from hate speech to harassment and misinformation. Moreover, tools to detect problematic audio content lag behind those used to identify text, further deepening the crisis, Reuters had reported.
Social apps will also have to focus on how their users can monetise from the platforms, app analytics firm Sensor Tower noted in a blog post. Twitter Spaces plans to allow a limited group to host Ticketed Spaces on the platform, paving way for subscription-based audio shows, Singh said.
(Updates were made in paragraphs 4 and 10)
