Facebook is reportedly creating an audio chat similar to the popular audio chat app, Clubhouse.
The invite-only social media app, Clubhouse has been attracting a lot of attention from high-profile tech executives including Tesla CEO, Elon Musk who made a surprise appearance on the app.
Facebook is known for clowning its competitors into its app or buying them just like it did for Instagram, Whatsapp, and Oculus, and it’s no surprise that the company has taken an interest in Clubhouse.
When Zoom, the video conferencing app became popular during the pandemic as more people adopted remote work, Facebook introduced Rooms, a group video chat service.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook made an appearance on Clubhouse last Sunday, and after that, his company is reportedly building an audio-based app called Fireside just like Clubhouse.
Instagram also owned by Mark, has a feature that rivals the popular social media app TikTok, called Reels, that lets users post videos. Facebook and Instagram also copied the disappearing post feature from Snapchat that allows users to post content that disappears in 24 hours.
A Facebook spokeswoman, Emilie Haskell spoke to the NY times saying, “We’ve been connecting people through audio and video technologies for many years and are always exploring new ways to improve that experience for people.”
What you should know
- Clubhouse was launched in 2020 and since then, it has become one of the most widely used Social media platforms, specifically for its audio-based voice chats.
- This popularity brought more investors as the company raised $100m valuing it at $1bn.
- Other companies are also experimenting with live audio. Twitter is also experimenting with an audio group chat feature similar to clubhouse called Spaces.
