Facebook is officially rolling out Live Audio Rooms, offering users a new audio-based social media service. Currently, public figures can host Live Audio Rooms from their Facebook profiles, in addition to certain Facebook Groups. Admins for Facebook Groups can also host a Live Audio Room, offering the opportunity to members with moderator status or any permitted member to host an audio room. Any number of listeners can join, while up to 50 speakers can be a part of the lineup.
Live Audio Rooms are one of four new audio features from Facebook, but the feature is being introduced into a busy market. The invite-only Clubhouse launched the Android version of its app last month. Twitter started testing Twitter Spaces last December and officially launched the feature in May of this year, and it’s also now available to use from a web browser. Live Audio Rooms also has to compete with similar features from Reddit and Spotify Greenroom. The latter of which was launched less than one week ago and offers listeners the opportunity to talk about music, sports and more.
Explained in a Newsroom post, Facebook has partnered with a wide range of creators, including musicians, athletes, and other celebrities. Listeners will be able to tune into music artists like TOKiMonsta, Kehlani and D Smoke. Sports lovers will be able to listen to football player Russell Wilson discuss how to get into the mindset of a top-tier athlete. Other creators hosting Live Audio Rooms include Queer Eye star Bobby Berk, comedian Reggie Watts, along with activists Amanda Nguyen and Rosa Clemente.
Facebook Groups Using Live Audio Rooms
Facebook Groups hosting Live Audio Rooms offer plenty of conversations for listeners to join in on. The “Dance Accepts Everyone” group provides users with access to discussions centering on the mental health benefits of dance, along with the “Meditation Matters” group, where listeners can center their minds with guided meditation. Vegan listeners can join the conversation in “Live Soul Food Group,” while octopus lovers can join a Live Audio Room hosted by “OctoNation -- The Largest Octopus Fan Club,” a nonprofit dedicated to helping the sea creature.
While Live Audio Rooms are definitely entering a competitive market, Facebook is giving it a great chance with this lineup of public figures and Facebook Groups. It’s especially smart as Facebook is integrating a new feature with public figure profile pages and Groups pages that users are already using. People may be more likely to join a Live Audio Room centered around a conversation they’re interested in or hosted by a public figure they care about, so it could lead to a strong start for Facebook's new audio feature.
Source: Facebook