Twitter Is Becoming a Podcast App (theverge.com) 16
Twitter has launched a test version of Twitter Spaces today that includes podcasts, "letting you listen to full shows through curated playlists based on your interests," reports The Verge. From the report: The redesigned Spaces tab opens with Stations, topic-based playlists combining podcast episodes pulled from RSS with Twitter's social audio events and recordings. It functions like a Pandora station but for spoken word and is pretty different from the a la carte listening podcast consumers are used to on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Live and upcoming spaces are still in the tab, further down the page. The test will roll out to a random group of users across the world, initially only in English. The more users listen, the more tailored the audio Stations will become. But Twitter isn't starting from square one -- the company is relying on what it already knows about its users' interests to curate the playlists. It'll draw from the interests of people they follow, as well.
"What we're really trying to capture here is as if it's like another user recommending you something," Twitter senior product manager Evan Jones, who focuses on audio, told Hot Pod. Podcast discovery is notoriously difficult, limited either to top 100 charts, hand-picked selections on apps, or -- more often than not -- word of mouth. No platform has managed to crack it, yet. It's easy to imagine the promotional possibilities around being able to share and listen to podcasts in the same app, but it's not quite there yet. The test does not yet have a clipping capability, and listening can only happen in the Spaces tab, not on the timeline. That being said, Spaces has a clipping feature that could be applied to podcasts at some point.
"What we're really trying to capture here is as if it's like another user recommending you something," Twitter senior product manager Evan Jones, who focuses on audio, told Hot Pod. Podcast discovery is notoriously difficult, limited either to top 100 charts, hand-picked selections on apps, or -- more often than not -- word of mouth. No platform has managed to crack it, yet. It's easy to imagine the promotional possibilities around being able to share and listen to podcasts in the same app, but it's not quite there yet. The test does not yet have a clipping capability, and listening can only happen in the Spaces tab, not on the timeline. That being said, Spaces has a clipping feature that could be applied to podcasts at some point.
No they are not (Score:3, Insightful)
Twitter Podcasts are the new Fleets I'm sure.
Why does Twitter spend any effort on stupid, obviously out of scope projects like this while the core service languishes?
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Twitter Podcasts are the new Fleets I'm sure.
Why does Twitter spend any effort on stupid, obviously out of scope projects like this while the core service languishes?
Because Elon isn't going to buy them out and they were just exposed as partisan hacks with no real value. Their only use is incoherent ranting from Republicans, nonsensical pronoun/LGBTQIAAP+EIEIO agenda bullshit from the Democrats, and edgelord CivWar II craziness from the Libertarians. Oh, and cat pictures. That's kind cool, but everyone does it.
Twitter is (Score:2)
Wonder what their format will be (Score:3)
128 seconds max?
Bird noises?
Re: (Score:1)
Why would you switch? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Twitter will remain what it always was ... (Score:2)
...any attempt to add features will die, as it is already done better elsewhere ..
No, it isn't. (Score:2)
Twitter is not becoming a podcast app. They are releasing one. To become a podcast app, they would have to roll up their other operations.
Why does Slashdot refuse to hire editors who speak English? That doesn't make sense here. The site is delivered in English, the language used here by the users is English... why don't the editors use it?
Never got into podcasts (Score:2)
Lost me at "curated" (Score:2)