Social audio

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Social audio is a subclass of social media that designates social media platforms that use audio as their primary channel of communication. This can include text messages, podcasts, tools for recording and editing audio in addition to virtual audio rooms. Still in an evolutionary state, different companies that develop social audio products are still trying to figure out what works for their users, and what doesn't. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

In March 2020, Alpha Exploration Co. launched a social audio application called Clubhouse on the iOS platform. The app has led to the emergence of a new social media segment known as social audio. Soon realizing the potential of this segment, a handful of companies came out with their social audio solutions as standalone products or as an expansion to their current products. Clubhouse being the pioneer in this segment, all competitors eventually adapted its features to their products. [4] [5]

In October 2020, Betty Labs launched their social audio app Locker Room for iOS. [6]

In November 2020, Twitter announced that it would develop a social audio feature on its platform. [7]

In December 2020, Telegram introduced the social audio feature Voice Chats in its app. [8] In the month, Twitter began beta testing its social audio feature known as Spaces with iOS users on their platform. [9]

In February 2021, Facebook announced plans to add social audio functionality to its app. [10] [11]

In March 2021, Twitter has started beta testing Spaces with Android users on their platform. [12] In that month, The Telegram released Voice Chat 2.0. [13] [14] On March 26, 2021, Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield was in a Clubhouse session moderated by PressClub when he announced that Slack would soon roll out a social audio feature. [15] [16] Late that month, Spotify purchased Betty Labs and announced its intention to rename the Locker Room app. [17] On March 31, 2021, Discord introduced its social audio feature called Stage Channels. [18] [19]

In April 2021, The Facebook NPE team launched a social audio product called Hotline in closed beta, requiring a Twitter account to login. [20] In the month, Reddit announced a social audio feature called Reddit Talk for their subreddit communities. [21] [22]

On May 3, 2021, Twitter Spaces released globally. [23] [24] On May 9, 2021, Clubhouse has launched a beta version of the Android app for users in the US, with worldwide access scheduled for a later date. Later, on May 21, 2021, Clubhouse became available worldwide for Android users. [25] [26]

On June 16, 2021, Spotify released its social audio app Spotify Greenroom on Android (early access) and iOS. [27] On June 21, 2021, Facebook has released its social audio feature known as Live Audio Rooms to users based in the United States. The company said it would deploy the feature globally in the coming months. [28] On June 30, 2021, Slack started rolling out its social audio solution named Slack Huddles for paid customers. [29] [30]

On July 21, 2021, Clubhouse app released its first gold build. [31] [32]

Common features

List of platforms

Telegram Voice Chats

In December 2020, Telegram introduced the social audio feature Voice Chats in its app. Later, In March 2021, Telegram released Voice Chat 2.0. [33] [34] It allows unlimited participants and conversation recording. [35] [36]

Discord Stages

On March 31, 2021, Discord introduced its social audio feature called Stage Channels. [37] [38]

Facebook Live Audio Rooms and Podcasts

In April 2021, The Facebook NPE team launched a product called Hotline in closed beta, requiring a Twitter account to login. It offers a room where only some people can speak while others listen. Also, speakers can turn on video. [39]

On June 21, 2021, Facebook has released its social audio feature known as Live Audio Rooms and Podcasts to users based in the United States. The company said it would deploy the feature globally in the coming months. It enables users to participate in the rooms with a maximum of 51 people (1 host and 50 speakers) onstage and an unlimited number of listeners. Also, provide access to a podcast library for its users. [40] [41]

Reddit Talk

In April 2021, Reddit announced a social audio feature called Reddit Talk for their subreddit communities. [42] [43]

Twitter Spaces

On May 3, 2021, Twitter added a social audio feature named Spaces to its platform. [44] [45] It allows users to engage in rooms with a maximum of 13 people (1 host, 2 co-hosts, and 10 speakers) onstage and an unlimited number of listeners. [46] [47]

Spaces is much further ahead in development than Clubhouse, with integration into the Twitter API that enables app integration. [48] In July 2021, Twitter announced a 'Voice Transformer' feature that would work in Spaces to change your voice. [49] Twitter also poached Clubhouse's exclusive NFL deal with 20 official NFL Spaces scheduled for the 2021-22 season. [50]

Spotify Greenroom

On June 16, 2021, Spotify released its social audio app Spotify Greenroom . Greenroom has built-in recording and integrates into both Spotify and Anchor.fm. This integration allows podcasters to record rooms and upload directly to podcast for distribution. It also notifies Spotify listeners when a verified artist is live in Greenroom.

Greenroom can currently accommodate up to 1000 people in a room. [51]

Slack Huddles

On June 30, 2021, Slack started rolling out its social audio solution named Slack Huddles for paid customers. It can take up to 50 participants at a time. [52] [53]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant messaging</span> Form of communication over the internet

Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing immediate transmission of messages over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and triggers a transmission to the recipient(s), who are all connected on a common network. It differs from email in that conversations over instant messaging happen in real-time. Most modern IM applications use push technology and also add other features such as emojis, file transfer, chatbots, voice over IP, or video chat capabilities.

The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols. Clients that use the same protocol can typically federate and talk to one another. The following table compares general and technical information for cross-platform instant messaging clients in active development, each of which have their own article that provide further information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reddit</span> American social news and discussion site

Reddit is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and forum social network. Registered users submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images, and videos, which are then voted up or down by other members. Posts are organized by subject into user-created boards called "communities" or "subreddits". Submissions with more upvotes appear towards the top of their subreddit and, if they receive enough upvotes, ultimately on the site's front page. Reddit administrators moderate the communities. Moderation is also conducted by community-specific moderators, who are not Reddit employees. It is operated by Reddit Inc., based in San Francisco.

Spotify is a Swedish music streaming service founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 602 million monthly active users, including 236 million paying subscribers, as of December 2023. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WhatsApp</span> Messaging and VoIP service owned by Meta Platforms

WhatsApp is an instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices, and can be accessed from computers. The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messenger (software)</span> American instant messaging app

Messenger, also known as Facebook Messenger, is an American proprietary instant messaging app and platform developed by Meta Platforms. Originally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008, the company revamped its messaging service in 2010, released standalone iOS and Android apps in 2011, and released standalone Facebook Portal hardware for Messenger calling in 2018. In April 2015, Facebook launched a dedicated website interface, Messenger.com, and separated the messaging functionality from the main Facebook app, allowing users to use the web interface or download one of the standalone apps. In April 2020, Facebook released a Messenger desktop app for Windows and macOS.

Slack is a cloud-based team communication platform developed by Slack Technologies, which since 2020 is owned by Salesforce. Slack has freemium and paid subscription offerings, and offers functionalities such as text messaging, file and media sharing, voice and video calls, and group chat for team collaboration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telegram (software)</span> Cross-platform encrypted instant messaging service

Telegram Messenger, commonly known as Telegram, is a cloud-based, cross-platform, encrypted instant messaging (IM) service. It was originally launched for iOS on 14 August 2013 and Android in October 2013. It allows users to exchange messages, share media and files, and hold private and group voice or video calls as well as public livestreams. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and web browsers. Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption in voice and video calls, and in optional private chats, which Telegram calls Secret Chats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discord</span> Online communication software

Discord is an instant messaging and VoIP social platform which allows communication through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, and media and files. Communication can be private or take place in virtual communities called "servers". A server is a collection of persistent chat rooms and voice channels which can be accessed via invite links. Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Linux, and in web browsers. As of 2021, the service has over 350 million registered users and over 150 million monthly active users. It is primarily used by gamers, although the share of users interested in other topics is growing. As of September 2023, Discord is the 35th most visited website in the world with 23.42% of its traffic coming from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Spaces</span> Discontinued mobile app for group discussions and messaging developed by Google

Google Spaces was a mobile app for group discussions and messaging developed by Google. The app was intended to compete with Slack as a content sharing platform where users can create a "space", invite their friends for discussion, and share videos, images, text, and other media. Google services such as the web browser Chrome, search engine Google Search, and video sharing platform YouTube were built into the app to allow users to source content from them. Google Spaces launched on May 16, 2016, available on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS operating systems. The app was discontinued on April 17, 2017. The Spaces brand name was revived for a feature in Google Chat, formerly named Rooms.

This page is a timeline of social media. Major launches, milestones, and other major events are included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Teams</span> Team collaboration application

Microsoft Teams is a team collaboration application developed by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products, offering workspace chat and video conferencing, file storage, and proprietary and third-party application integration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ActivityPub</span> Decentralized social networking protocol

ActivityPub is an open, decentralized social networking protocol based on Pump.io's ActivityPump protocol. It provides a client/server API for creating, updating, and deleting content, as well as a federated server-to-server API for delivering notifications and content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Chat</span> Enterprise messaging software developed by Google

Google Chat is a communication service developed by Google. Initially designed for teams and business environments, it has since been made available for general consumers. It provides direct messaging, group conversations, and spaces, which allow users to create and assign tasks and share files in a central place in addition to chatting. It can be accessed through its own website and app or through the Gmail website and app.

Shortcut Software is an American software company that develops project management software for software development teams. Until September 2021 it was known as Clubhouse Software.

Comparison of user features of messaging platforms refers to a comparison of all the various user features of various electronic instant messaging platforms. This includes a wide variety of resources; it includes standalone apps, platforms within websites, computer software, and various internal functions available on specific devices, such as iMessage for iPhones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clubhouse (app)</span> Audio-based social networking service

Clubhouse is a social audio app for iOS and Android.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotify Live</span> Defunct social audio service

Spotify Live, formerly Spotify Greenroom, was a social audio app by Spotify, that allowed users to host or participate in live-audio virtual environments called "room" for conversations. Each room had a maximum capacity of 1000 people. The app was available on Android and iOS, competing with Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse in the social media segment. It was shut down on April 30, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Facebook outage</span> Outage affecting all Facebook operated services

On October 4, 2021, at 15:39 UTC, the social network Facebook and its subsidiaries, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Mapillary, and Oculus, became globally unavailable for a period of six to seven hours. The outage also prevented anyone trying to use "Log in with Facebook" from accessing third-party sites. It lasted for 7 hours and 11 minutes.

References

  1. ↑ "Your Guide to Social Audio: Clubhouse and Other Voice-Based Social Media". Voices. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  2. ↑ "How 'social audio' is making all the noise now". The Indian Express. 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  3. ↑ "The 4 Most Popular Social Audio Apps in 2021". www.highfidelity.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  4. ↑ "What is Clubhouse, the iOS-only social audio app that is gaining traction". The Indian Express. 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  5. ↑ Isaac, Mike (2021-02-10). "Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  6. ↑ "Locker Room App Gives Fans a New Way to Connect and Talk Sports". InsideHook. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  7. ↑ "Twitter rolls out Stories, aka 'Fleets,' to all users; will also test a Clubhouse rival". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  8. ↑ "Voice Chats Done Right". Telegram. 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  9. ↑ "Twitter launches its voice-based 'Spaces' social networking feature into beta testing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  10. ↑ Carman, Ashley (2021-02-10). "Facebook is reportedly working on a Clubhouse copy". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  11. ↑ Isaac, Mike (2021-02-10). "Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  12. ↑ "Twitter Spaces arrives on Android ahead of Clubhouse". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  13. ↑ "Telegram Voice Chats 2.0 Released to Rival Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  14. ↑ "Voice Chats 2.0: Channels, Millions of Listeners, Recorded Chats, Admin Tools". Telegram. 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  15. ↑ "Everyone is aping Clubhouse. Now, Slack is doing it too!". Pocketnow. 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  16. ↑ Constine, Josh. "Taming the hybrid work chimera: Tips from Slack, WordPress, & Salesforce chiefs". constine.substack.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  17. ↑ Steele, Anne (2021-03-30). "Spotify Acquires Sports-Talk App Locker Room". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  18. ↑ "Discord introduces Clubhouse-like Stage Channels feature for live audio conversations". Tech2. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  19. ↑ Peters, Jay (2021-03-31). "Discord's new Clubhouse-like feature, Stage Channels, is available now". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  20. ↑ "Facebook tests Hotline, a Q&A product that's a mashup of Clubhouse and Instagram Live". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  21. ↑ "Reddit Talk is a Clubhouse competitor for subreddits". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  22. ↑ "Reddit Talk is the latest Clubhouse-rival". HT Tech. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  23. ↑ Rodriguez, Salvador (2021-05-03). "Twitter launches Spaces live-audio rooms to all users with more than 600 followers". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  24. ↑ Lyons, Kim (2021-05-03). "Twitter will now let anyone with 600 or more followers host its audio Spaces on mobile". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  25. ↑ Lyons, Kim (2021-05-09). "Clubhouse comes to Android after more than a year of iOS exclusivity". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  26. ↑ "Clubhouse is now available worldwide on Android". Engadget. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  27. ↑ "Spotify launches its live audio app and Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  28. ↑ Menegus, Bryan (2021-06-21). "Facebook's Clubhouse competitor starts rolling out in the US today". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  29. ↑ Warren, Tom (2021-06-30). "Slack launches Huddles, Discord-like audio calls you can hop in and out of". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  30. ↑ Pocket-lint (2021-07-02). "What are Slack Huddles and how do they work? - Pocket-lint". www.pocket-lint.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  31. ↑ Yeo, Amanda (2021-07-21). "Clubhouse is finally open to everyone". Mashable. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  32. ↑ "Clubhouse is now out of beta and open to everyone". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  33. ↑ "Telegram Voice Chats 2.0 Released to Rival Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Voice Chats 2.0: Channels, Millions of Listeners, Recorded Chats, Admin Tools". Telegram. March 19, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  35. ↑ "What are Telegram Voice Chats 2.0 and how do they work?". The Indian Express. March 21, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Telegram Voice Chats 2.0 Released to Rival Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Discord introduces Clubhouse-like Stage Channels feature for live audio conversations". Tech2. April 2, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  38. ↑ Peters, Jay (March 31, 2021). "Discord's new Clubhouse-like feature, Stage Channels, is available now". The Verge. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Facebook tests Hotline, a Q&A product that's a mashup of Clubhouse and Instagram Live". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Facebook officially launches Live Audio Rooms and podcasts in the US". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  41. ↑ Menegus, Bryan (June 21, 2021). "Facebook's Clubhouse competitor starts rolling out in the US today". The Verge. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Reddit Talk is a Clubhouse competitor for subreddits". www.theverge.com. April 19, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  43. ↑ "Reddit Talk is the latest Clubhouse-rival". HT Tech. April 20, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  44. ↑ Rodriguez, Salvador (May 3, 2021). "Twitter launches Spaces live-audio rooms to all users with more than 600 followers". CNBC. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  45. ↑ Lyons, Kim (May 3, 2021). "Twitter will now let anyone with 600 or more followers host its audio Spaces on mobile". The Verge. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  46. ↑ Gartenberg, Chaim (August 5, 2021). "Twitter Spaces adds co-host option to help moderate and manage rooms". The Verge. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  47. ↑ "About Twitter Spaces". help.twitter.com. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  48. ↑ Peters, Jay (August 18, 2021). "Twitter is making it easier for other apps to point to Spaces". The Verge. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  49. ↑ Espósito, Filipe (July 22, 2021). "Twitter Spaces implementing 'Voice Transformer' feature with multiple voice effects for users". 9to5Mac. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  50. ↑ Spangler, Todd (July 8, 2021). "NFL, Twitter Expand Partnership to Include 20-Plus Twitter Spaces Live-Audio Chats Next Season". Variety. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  51. ↑ "Spotify launches its live audio app and Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  52. ↑ Warren, Tom (June 30, 2021). "Slack launches Huddles, Discord-like audio calls you can hop in and out of". The Verge. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  53. ↑ "What are Slack Huddles and how do they work? - Pocket-lint". www.pocket-lint.com. July 2, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
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