While the ability to tune in and engage with other people in a less forceful, more relaxed live format has lost some traction since the sudden rise of Clubhouse early last year, it still holds significant appeal and potential in various forms and apps.
While Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces are the most well-known platforms in this regard, Reddit has seen success with its own ‘Reddit Talk‘ option, which it first launched in April and has since been discreetly expanding to more of its highly engaged communities, providing yet another way to extend Reddit chats to another medium.
Over 1,000 subreddits now have access to the feature, according to Reddit, which has resulted in a 250 percent increase in daily active listeners of Reddit Talk conversations over the previous three months.
That’s important, and in light of the increased interest, Reddit is focusing more on Reddit Talk discussions as it seeks to extend its user engagement choices and the app’s general utility. To begin, Reddit is making Reddit Talk chats more visible, with a new, Twitter-like feed of live chats in action, within the subreddits you follow, along the app’s top bar.
This is a significant change, and Reddit users will undoubtedly have strong opinions about it. The app’s highly engaged communities are often resistant to change, particularly anything that lessens the app’s focus, and this upgrade, which will change user home screens, will undoubtedly face some resistance.
However, it may cause more individuals to tune in to relevant talks, which might be a significant step forward for the app.
Reddit is also introducing Talk recordings, which will allow users to listen in on talks afterward.
“Starting today, when a redditor visits a Reddit Talk post from a past live session, they’ll be able to listen to a recording of the conversation. The new feature includes a playback bar that enables redditors to skip to any timestamp, pause or unpause, and fast-forward or rewind 10 seconds at a time.”
Another important step is to increase the value of Reddit audio chats, which may provide additional motivation for users to broadcast in the app as a way to grow their profile and following.
It’s a natural development for Reddit conversation, and while it’s distinct from other social audio alternatives, those variations may be beneficial to Reddit’s special use case, improving app utility.
