Facebook has continued its foray into the live streaming world with live audio events they’re calling “Live Audio” as well as “Podcasts”. These are initially limited to the US for the time being, but it is expected that this will be rolled out to other countries fairly soon.
I’m sure you’ve heard of podcasts before, but if you haven’t, much like Netflix has digitalized live tv podcasts have digitalized radio shows; podcasts are live audio events usually informative such as Always Take Notes a podcast about writers, by writers; or the Fake Doctors, Real Friends podcast which chronicles two actors experience playing the protagonists of the HBO show Scrubs.
Podcasts have become incredibly widespread as a result of Covid-19 and lockdowns implemented by most countries, with listeners almost doubling across a large variety of podcast platforms. This increase in the audience has meant that Facebook’s introduction of this feature is geared for greatness; features such as hand raising and the ability to be invited to speak or ask questions make this a much more interactive, dynamic form of podcast that is seldom seen in the online space.
At the moment Facebook is only rolling out the Live Audio Room feature for public figures as well as “select” Facebook groups. Some examples of the public figures selected include:
Social networks have already taken on the idea of podcasts and live audio before, one example being Clubhouse which is designed and built specifically around audio rooms; both live “podcast” style events and group chats are hosted on an invite-only basis. Facebook will be looking to emulate the success of platforms like Spotify, Clubhouse, and Facebook’s own live streaming service all of which likely spurred on Facebook’s decision to delve into the podcast market.
Do you listen to podcasts? Will you be using Facebook’s new service when it arrives? Let us know on socials.
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