Twitter integrates live podcast rooms into its platform

Twitter Spaces is now visible to a group of global English-speaking audience on iOS and Android

Twitter has integrated podcasts to their platform as part of their newly redesigned Twitter Spaces tab. Photo: Twitter

Twitter has added podcasts to its platform as part of its newly redesigned Twitter Spaces tab. The integration introduces personalised hubs for users within Spaces called "Stations".

The new features are live audio conversations users can tune into, across a range of categories such as news, sports and music. Users can also listen back to recordings that have already taken place, as well as podcast episodes.

“We know that some discussions need more than 280 characters,” Twitter wrote on its official blog.

Twitter said its algorithm would recommend podcasts and recordings based on their interests. Users can also use “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” reactions on podcasts to help tailor the recommendations that appear.

Additionally, all users can create their own station, choose a topic and category and invite co-hosts and guests to join a live conversation.

In June 2020, Twitter introduced voice tweets. The 140 seconds of audio that could be sent out with a written tweet aimed to add a “more human touch to the way we use Twitter".

However, much like the now deleted “Fleets”, a feature where users could upload text or videos that only lasted for 24 hours, voice tweets were not widely used.

The newly redesigned Twitter Space and Stations may have better luck than its audio predecessor, given its similarity to Clubhouse. The live voice-only social audio app, which now has more than 10 million users, grew in popularity during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, filling a space for users wanting to engage through a podcast-like format.

Twitter Spaces is still in its testing phase and visible only to a select English-speaking audience on iOS and Android. Twitter is encouraging users who have access to the new feature to share feedback on their experiences, to better the new audio integration before it is rolled out worldwide.

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