Facebook begins Live Audio Rooms, its Clubhouse rival

Alexander Shatov/Unsplash Facebook is starting the first test of its Live Audio Rooms product with public figures and creators in Taiwan, part of an expansion of the company’s audio services that will over time include podcast hosting and creation tools. The social media giant announced a sweeping set of updates to its audio services in April, with Live Audio Rooms being the Clubhouse-like centrepiece, allowing users to participate in group voice conversations. It intends to expand the trial’s availability over time and the service will eventually be accessible in the Facebook and Messenger apps. Taiwan is one of Menlo Park, California-based Facebook’s most vibrant markets, where celebrities and politicians constantly debate important issues and freely interact with their audiences. For the initial roll-out, Facebook is limiting the test to what it says is a handful of public figures while planning to bring Live Audio Rooms to Facebook Groups as well. The company is integrating its Stars feature into the audio chat product, letting fans buy tokens to support their favourites, much like they do on live-streaming platform Twitch. Facebook has in the past quickly rolled out new products similar to competitors’, from the Snap-like Instagram Stories to Reels, akin to…
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