Facebook on Monday finally launched its version of the popular Clubhouse-like live audio room with a way to find and play podcasts via the platform, marketing it as a push into the social media and audio platform via the world's largest social media platform.
Facebook's rollout of the Clubhouse rival comes after the early success that was seen for the invite-only live audio app, which became a hit amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was also one of the first Silicon Valley celebrities to have made an appearance on the app, which also expanded to Android users so that everyone has access to the popular and trendy application.
The platform that had mentioned earlier that it wanted to make audio a "first-class medium" on the company's platforms, follows in the footsteps of Twitter Inc and Discord which have recently launched their own audio offerings. Spotify too introduced its own version, under the name Greenroom on Wednesday.
What Do We Know About The Platform
Certain other companies who are working on such an application or service include the likes of Slack and Reddit. In terms of what is on offer, popular figures and certain Groups on Facebook in the United States who are on iOS will now be able to create a live audio room with up to 50 speakers as well as unlimited listeners.
The users can also invite people without a "verified badge" to speak as Facebook mentioned in a blog post. Users who are on both iOS and Android will be able to listen to the rooms.
The company, which had been vocal when it came to its push in order to attract the content creators of 2021, stated that it was going to be partnering with certain figures that include musicians, journalists and athletes in the live audio rooms. Listeners will also be able to send the company's virtual currency called stars to creators in the audio rooms.
Mark Zuckerberg has also mentioned that the company will not be taking a cut out of the creator revenue until 2023. To add to this, a number of popular or famous podcasts will be available on Facebook to U.S. based listeners and the company has mentioned that it would soon add to this new feature.
Do note that Facebook has been criticized when it comes to its handling of the problematic content present on its products, will also be facing the challenges of moderating both live and recorded audio content. Additionally, Facebook will also be launching a project with Spotify to allow users to share and listen to music on the platform.
