Facebook introduced in the summer of this year the audio rooms, a function very similar to Clubhouse , and that allows users to listen to live conversations without leaving the social network. Despite the failure of the app that was launched in 2020, Mark Zuckerberg's company has wanted to continue improving its copy of the social network of audio chats with new features.
Specifically, the company has launched the Live Audio Rooms function beyond the United States, where it has been present since June of this year. Now, it is also available in Spain, among other countries. Therefore, users who are still using Facebook will be able to hear public figures or verified users talking about different topics. Similarly, Facebook groups will also be able to create live audio rooms to chat with each other.
This feature is currently limited to a few users and devices. The social network plans to launch the compatibility on various platforms in the future. That is, it is possible to create an audio room through the Facebook app for Android, and that the user can listen to it from the web version. Over time, it will also expand to more content creators and groups.
One more alternative to the failed Clubhouse but also from Facebook
Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash Clubhouse, remember, was announced in April 2020. However, the application developed by Alpha Exploration was not a success until the first months of 2021, coinciding with the restrictions due to the pandemic. The social network, however, did not take long to show privacy and security problems that, together with the threat of other large platforms such as Twitter —which presented very similar functions— caused its success to collapse . In fact, and according to Sensor Tower data, it has barely achieved more than 400 thousand downloads on iOS and only 800 thousand downloads on Android during the month of September.
Facebook, despite Clubhouse's poor download figures, has decided to expand its copy to the rest of the markets. Ignoring its possible failure, is it a good idea considering the serious problems that the company faces? Recent statements by a former worker make it clear that Facebook is not betting on solutions to avoid misinformation.
The so-called Live Audio Rooms are another means of communication within the platform, where although it is limited to users who have a verification, the intention of activating it to more people can further maximize the problems present in the social network. As long as, yes, this feature achieves minimal success. However, everything indicates that it will be another function that will soon be forgotten.
