Is Twitter Spaces Going to Be Bigger than Clubhouse?
The social media space has been blowing up recently, especially with quarantines and lockdowns prohibiting people from leaving their homes. Whether it be informal chats with friends or corporate meetings with co-workers, conversations are now online. Given the massive shift to the online space, audio and social voice networking have become more popular than ever. As such, the big social media names are making sure they stay ahead of the game to maintain their large user base.
Among the top networks known to many today, Twitter jumped onto the opportunity to integrate audio media into its platform and features. Leading the social audio market today is Clubhouse, an invite-only app where users can join rooms and listen to conversations and discussions. The platform has built its reputation around exclusivity and creativity as one of the first to take advantage of the appeal of audio chat features.
While Clubhouse has enjoyed being one of the hottest apps today, its position is under threat from Twitter’s take on social audio networking. Now that Twitter has launched Twitter Spaces on iOS and Android platforms, you might be wondering whether it will be bigger than Clubhouse.
How Does Twitter Spaces Work?
Like its rival competitor Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces is a built-in Twitter feature where you can gather with different users to engage in conversations. While they are happening, other users can join different Spaces as listeners. If you create the space, you can invite people to join and have speaking privileges, while all other users who participate in the conversation will remain listeners.
Given that Twitter Spaces is still in its early stages, the company is still testing and experimenting with its different features. Twitter Spaces launched on iOS, but in early March 2021, it was made available to Android users. As of now, the new tool is only accessible through mobile, but Twitter has teased that it is working on bringing these audio rooms onto other devices.
If the plan to bring Twitter Spaces to the web pushes through, it can be a complete game-changer in social media marketing. Businesses that use Twitter marketing can capitalise on this feature to produce audio content that appeals to their customer base. Nowadays, users are more attracted to this type of content as it is more engaging and humanising, so brands are capitalising on these opportunities to amass more interest.
Twitter Spaces vs Clubhouse
With Twitter Spaces essentially having the same functionality as Clubhouse, there are many questions on whether it will be bigger than the pioneering social audio app. The two tools have practically identical features, with the only difference being the platform used. Clubhouse is known for its exclusivity since it operates on an invite-only basis, and for the most part, people have used the app to gain a larger following.
However, when it comes to building social capital, Twitter undoubtedly offers more value to users as it has been in the digital space for much longer. Thus, you might be more attracted to Twitter Spaces since you can gain more followers there. The platform also has a more engaged user base with some of the most prominent names, allowing you to get a wider reach from it.
Putting it simply, Twitter has more users. This considerable difference alone puts Twitter Spaces at an advantage to become much more prominent than Clubhouse. However, nothing is set in stone right now, especially since Twitter’s tool is still new to the game. Many questions remain about which of the two will dominate the social audio networking space, but now that Twitter has entered, the competition will likely intensify even further.