Reddit is the latest in a growing line of social media platforms to take on audio-only app Clubhouse.
The site on Monday offered a “sneak peek” of Reddit Talk, “a new tool that lets you host live audio conversations in your communities.” Interested users are encouraged to add their name to the waitlist, to be notified when the feature is ready.
The discussion website currently connects people and communities through text threads, images, videos, chats, and live streams. “While these are great mediums, there are other times where having a live audio talk may be more useful or, frankly, more fun,” Redditor signal, product lead for creators, wrote in an announcement. “So we want to partner with you to explore a new way for community members to communicate with each other.
During early tests, only moderators can start a talk; as host, they can invite and mute participants, or remove unwanted users and prevent them from rejoining. Once live, any Redditor may join the room to listen, react with emojis, and raise their hand to speak.
“We’re looking forward to working with you all to make sure that Reddit Talk has the best moderation experience possible,” the service said, teasing customizable emojis, avatars, and background colors. “We’re also exploring features to support AMAs and other types of conversations.”
You’ll be able to find talks for Q&As, lectures, sports radio-style discussions, community feedback sessions, or just a digital space where like-minded folks can hang out. Sound familiar? Software like Discord, Slack, and Skype have long provided chat platforms for people to work and play video games alongside. Exclusive app Clubhouse, meanwhile, gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to kick off the latest audio-only social media trend.
“Yes, there are a few different platforms diving into live audio right now,” signal wrote in a comment on the post. “Our hope is that by announcing this early with a community-first design, we will see engaging conversations hosted first by moderators, who we’ll be working with closely to ensure we’re creating a unique, supportive, and positive user experience.”
Expected to roll out to all platforms—mobile and desktop—Reddit Talk is “still working out the details” of live captioning for the hearing impaired.
Facebook this week also unveiled a similarly Clubhouse-esque feature, called Live Audio Rooms, to give users a space to “share ideas with new audiences and create a forum for discussion, without the added pressure of being on camera.” The new experience is slated to arrive this summer, alongside a handful of other social audio experiences.
