In terms of innovation, Facebook has two methods in the face of competition: redemption (like Instagram or WhatsApp), or copy (Stories from Snapchat, Reels against TikTok).

Faced with the success of the Clubhouse platform, this will therefore be the second solution.

On Monday, Facebook unveiled its “Live audio rooms”, and announced that its users could “listen to podcasts directly on” its app in the coming months.

Under the influence of the Zoom videoconferencing service and then Clubhouse, Facebook has also extended video and audio functionality live, on the network and on Instagram.

Although accessible only on iOS (Apple) and by invitation, Clubbouse is visited by 10 million users every week and is already valued at $ 4 billion, just one year after its highly confidential launch in Silicon Valley.

Facebook has indicated that it will test its “Live audio rooms” or “live audio rooms” in the tens of millions of groups active on the platform.

They should be available to all of its users by the summer.

"Soundbites"

Audio formats were in vogue before the pandemic, but containment measures and the fatigue of time spent in front of screens have contributed to a tenfold craze for platforms that allow you to listen or interact without having your eyes screwed on your laptop or computer.

Twitter has been testing its “Spaces” since December, and should soon open these “spaces” for discussion for good, after having already launched audio tweets - 140 seconds each - last June.

Influencers (actors, activists, etc.) and amateurs will also be able to use new sound creation tools, in particular to record “Soundbites” (“sound”), a format that will be tested in the coming months.

It could be, for example, poems, anecdotes or even humorous sketches.

In audio lounges, content creators will also have access to monetization options, such as a call for donations or subscription models.

The ability to generate income for authors or animators is one of the major challenges in this sector.

Podcast push

“Over 170 million people are already connected to hundreds of thousands of Facebook pages on podcasts and over 35 million are members of fan groups around podcasts - but until now you had to leave the Facebook app to listen to episodes, ”notes Fiji Simo, responsible for the platform's mobile application, in a press release.

“And because it's still hard to find podcasts you love, we'll make it easy for you to find new titles and episodes based on your interests,” she adds.

In the United States, podcast enthusiasts mainly use Spotify, followed by dedicated apps from Apple and Google, followed by the Pandora platform, show websites and Audible, Amazon's audiobook app, from Amazon. 'after a survey by eMarketer carried out a year ago.

Offering podcast listening directly on Facebook allows the network to strengthen its galaxy of services (communities, meetings, shopping, entertainment, etc.) so that its users spend even more time on its products, time that translates into advertising revenue. .

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