Detto fatto: in pochi mesi Facebook raggiunge, e forse anche scavalca, l'app di chat audio Clubhouse presentando le nuove Live Audio Rooms.
Giuseppe Croce Giornalista
Peppe Croce, giornalista dal 2008, si occupa di device elettronici e nuove tecnologie applicate al mondo automotive. È entrato in Libero Tecnologia nel 2018.
Erano state annunciate ad aprile e adesso arrivano veramente, seppur solo negli Stati Uniti: sono le nuove Live Audio Rooms di Facebook, l’alternativa a Clubhouse secondo il gruppo di Mark Zuckerberg. An alternative integrated in the main social, which gives it a firepower significantly higher than Clubhouse.
As it was easy to expect, however, Facebook Live Audio Rooms looks very aesthetically similar to Clubhouse: after all, the underlying mechanism is the same and there was nothing to invent in terms of interface. Where Live Rooms surpasses Clubhouse is in the number of listeners that a single audio chat can have: unlimited. Facebook doesn't have big server problems and can afford to keep up a much larger structure than Clubhouse. This leads to the real big difference between Clubhouse and Live Rooms: while the former, which at most grants access to chats to 5000 people, remains a sort of exclusive club for a few, the latter is for the masses, in full Facebook style.
Facebook Live Audio Rooms: how it works
Facebook Live Audio Rooms is integrated into the social network's Android and iOS apps and can be accessed with your normal Facebook profile, no subscription is needed.
The interface is divided into two large sections: the upper part is reserved for chat organizers (up to a maximum of 50 speakers), while the lower part is for participants (unlimited). Who is speaking is clearly indicated by an illuminated circle around their profile picture.
In comparison with Clubhouse Live Audio Rooms, it adds the possibility of using automatic subtitles in real time and sharing an audio chat via Facebook (either on your feed or in groups). The chats created or shared in private groups are open only to members of the groups themselves, those in public groups are accessible to all.
As on Clubhouse, Facebook Live Audio Rooms also has a draft monetization system: it is possible both to start a fundraiser and to ask and give tips to the creators, through the system of Facebook Stars.
Soundbites
Facebook Live Audio Rooms is now available for everyone, but only in the United States. In the future, the availability of the service will be extended to other markets, but perhaps a second piece of Menlo Park's audio strategy will arrive first: Soundbites.
Soundbites is the function to share short audio clips, a sort of vocal-only TikTok. It will arrive by the end of 2021.