LinkedIn is throwing its hat into the live audio ring

Clubhouse’s list of competitors is growing. Suzi Owens, a spokesperson for LinkedIn has confirmed that the company is working on its very own live audio chat room feature, however, the planned release date remains unknown. According to LinkedIn, users have been interacting more and more with stories and video sharing, so they believe that an audio platform will also attract the community’s attention.

“We’re seeing nearly 50% growth in conversations on LinkedIn reflected in stories, video shares, and posts on the platform,” Suzi Owens, a spokesperson for LinkedIn, said when confirming its audio feature’s development. “We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity. And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community,”

she said.

This comes as Twitter undergoes a global rollout of its live audio feature, Spaces. It also follows Spotify and Slack’s announcements that they’re building Clubhouse-style rivals on their own.

What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is a free, voice-based social media app where people discuss predetermined topics or whatever’s on their mind in “rooms”. Currently, Clubhouse is available only as an iOS app, and its rooms can’t be accessed via Android devices or the Web. It’s also invite-only for now, meaning you need to know an existing user to use the app. And existing users need to give the app access to their entire iOS contact list to send any invites.

To date, Clubhouse has had appearances from the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerburg, Oprah Winfrey, Drake, Chris Rock, designer Virgil Abloh, comedian Tiffany Haddish, CNN’s Van Jones, rapper 21 Savage, and “Shark Tank’s” Mark Cuban on the app.

Clubhouse owes its fast rise to a few proven growth hacking strategies — deployed by start-up founders to drive downloads and hook users — and good timing. The app launched in March 2020, just as stay-at-home orders cut off access to in-person interaction, events, and entertainment. The venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz valued the company at $100 million when it was a few months old, had fewer than 5,000 beta testers.

Source:TechCrunch,WashingtonPost
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