Audio features are the new ‘Stories’, according to the social media industry, and thus, it is no surprise that the Clubhouse feature is making its way to every major social media site on the internet. While some like Facebook are still contemplating their move, Twitter has already gotten a head-start, with Twitter Spaces. The live audio feature that allows account holders to engage in, well, live audio sessions, is the company’s latest bet, and today, it’s doubling the wager.
The company announced that it is opening Twitter Spaces up, allowing anyone with 600 or more followers to use the feature, both on iOS and Android.
While limiting the feature to a smaller section of its audience may seem weird, the company has an explanation. It says that usually, accounts with more than 600 followers are actually able to leverage the full capabilities of a live audio session like this, or so it has found.
That being said, it plans on bringing the feature to all of its users in the future.
Moreover, it is also going to make Spaces more visible on its platform. Right in the Story tab on the top, live Spaces sessions will be marked with a purple border, to differentiate it from the other Stories.
What’s funny is that Stories (or as they are known on Twitter-‘Fleets‘), a feature that has become a staple for the social media market, was added to Twitter just a little while ago. Thus, it’s a little out of the ‘blue’ to see Twitter adding new features so quickly.
However, it’s not surprising. The company has been saying that it is looking to expand its platform and find other sources of revenue (in addition to advertising), for quite some time now. Thus, it’s on a new ‘feature-adding’ spree, and we might see a lot more from the company in the near future.
Circling back to Spaces, the company is also planning to add new additions to the feature, including multiple hosts (much like Instagram Live, bar the video), and notifications for Spaces sessions. This might pave the way for Twitter to actually generate revenue off of Spaces-by selling tickets for live sessions.
Nonetheless, we are witnessing a shift in the social media market, and as someone who loves the idea of live audio interaction, I am all for it.
