The Social Audio Wars | Clubhouse vs Twitter Spaces vs Spotify Greenroom

2021 has seen the rise of the social audio space, within the vast world of social media. The world is put on a standstill saw people searching to connect with others outside of the norm. This new void was able to be filled by new tech, as well as some existing players' attempts. But how do they rank? And what do I think are the hits and misses of each? Let’s take a look from a purely user (not a creator) perspective. Oh, there is also a TLDR at the bottom if you just want to know my winners and losers.

Clubhouse

The first major player is Clubhouse. Arguably the “king” of the social audio game. Backed by a16z and a few other Silicon Valley investments, Clubhouse rose to fame for being the first to really nail the mix of social connection with event-like features. But being first does come with its downfalls, and only being a small size team in the Bay vs some giants, the game becomes hard to play.

Hits:

Room Discoverability (Just Browsing)

First launching the app you get a great mix of things that the app itself thinks you might like, with some things purely based on a selection of interests. The algorithm on Clubhouse when you are just looking around really is far better than the others in this list.

Integrated Payment Feature

The struggle in today’s social world is how can we support the creators we love beyond the likes and follows. Clubhouse didn’t start with this feature but adapted a great tip-like system in order to support those people who give incredible value. Personally, I think this is perfect for that event void where users can help support speakers who are giving information or holding something like a panel.

Creation Hubs (Clubs)

It is in the name so you’d hope this would be a great feature but, the option to follow a group with topics you like to listen to help those who want to use the app a specific way. Say you are interested in the NBA and you have listened to a group talking about a game. Instead of following each speaker, you can follow the club and be notified when they make a new room allowing you to always catch up, even if a certain speaker isn’t there.

Misses:

Room Discoverability (Following)

Odd that a hit can also be a miss but this is specific once you start to follow people on the app. That awesome pushing of new content that you might enjoy just disappears and it takes a long time to find new conversations. Although you might want to see what those who you follow are talking about, the balance isn’t there and you tend to get bored of the same topics.

Features Are Slow To Roll Out

Since the beginning, the team at Clubhouse has struggled to keep up with the demand and it shows. Features tend to almost always operate like beta testing even when live. An example of this would be when Android users were able to finally get on the app. The connection of an Instagram to your Clubhouse profile was just missing. I personally think that it affects user experience when there aren’t seamless features.

“The Big Picture” Approach

Remember Clubhouse being first and having the massive spike in popularity? Well, sometimes that backfires. To the regular user coming on a few times a week, Clubhouse can sort of seem empty. This is caused by the push of company curation. A lot of Clubhouse’s goal from the outside looking in is that, they are focusing on getting celebrities, or consistent “show” content (similar to radio or TV) and that drives the use case down if those things are just not happening.

Twitter Spaces

Built by a major player in the social media world, Twitter Spaces was ready to take on others using their existing platform of users. Oddly enough Twitter had discussions of buying Clubhouse for $4 billion earlier this year when the app was seeing great success.

Hits:

Seamless Integration With Twitter App

From day one I had this belief that audio apps like Clubhouse were a great feature but needed an aspect outside of the audio world. Well with Spaces being built right into Twitter, it pretty much answers that call. Being able to see creators beyond what they say in a Space is great if you want to follow more of what they do.

More “Event Like”

Of all the options Spaces really went all-in with the event market. Having 10 person speaker caps, focusing on showcasing who is speaking when you preview a Space, and just the nature of how Twitter is a more informative social app. All of these lead the Spaces feature to feel like a great place to listen as opposed to interacting.

Not Obtrusive

Being that the feature is built straight into Twitter’s existing platform, it is incredibly easy to ignore the Spaces and go on to use Twitter the way you always do. This also allows you to glance up to where the “Fleets” are and see if there are any active Spaces you’d enjoy joining.

Misses:

Zero Discoverability

How do I see cool Spaces? Well… I don’t. This is a huge downfall if you wanted to explore outside of your circle of following. For example there is a new piece of tech that just came out and you want to hear the first details on Twitter. Well, you better hope that someone you know is in a Space, otherwise, it may take a while to find what you are looking for.

Clearly a Small Feature

In line with the zero discoverability, it is clear that Twitter views audio as a very small feature within their broader product. With that being the case, does it bring audio to the forefront? Not really.

Design

This won’t be the last time I mention design. There is one design element I do like about Spaces that I’ll mention first. The way you see Spaces on your Twitter feed is perfect. Other than that, it looks, bare. Icons are small, the current speaker icon is easy to miss, and seeing people within the Space (mainly larger ones) is almost impossible. Not a great thing for social audio.

Spotify Greenroom

Yes, Spotify like the music platform, the Spotify that really has no social aspect other than following friends to see what they are listening to. But a new major player that wants to show you how a brand built on audio, can make it social.

Hits:

Incentive To Speak

Unlike all of the other apps here, Greenroom almost forces some sort of communication even from the most anti-social person. Firstly, the gem system (a “like” sort of feature), allows audience members to give praise to those who they like speaking without needing to say a word. Secondly, this the only app that retains old-school typing with a chat feature that allows the audience and speakers to communicate with each other. These two features promote interaction even if you aren’t speaking, making it, in my opinion, the most social.

Design

Here is the design thing again. Out of the three, Greenroom has a cool design that makes it nice to look at and easier to use. Bolder text, more colorful UI and just more intuitive buttons really help the user around the app, better than the others.

Recording Integration

In my first ever experience on Greenroom, someone said this was a bad feature but I personally love this idea. Being integrated with Spotify, creators can record their sessions in order to be posted for playback after the event. This is amazing for users who want to listen to a specific session but can’t during the live time. I see this being used huge once Spotify introduces partners to this app.

Misses:

Way Too Cluttered

Ok, the app is relatively new, at least the Spotify version, however, because it used to be Locker Room, the old user base is still around with the content that used to be. This makes the algorithm nuts for first-time users and people who might join this over others due to the Spotify name. The meshing of the two worlds, plus the weighting based purely on how many people are in a session, it makes your home feed a bit of a mess.

Very Individualistic for a Social App

Something really missing from this app is the sense of building a community, even as a listener. Because the algorithm is what it is, and the lack of anywhere to really follow the things you love beyond a creator, you are sort of on your own. Unlike Clubhouse where there are specific groups you can follow to see the topics, Greenroom leaves you looking through the cluttered home feed to find the things they think you like.

Just Another One

Greenroom in my opinion is nothing special. It feels rushed. It feels that Spotify bought Locker Room, gave it a makeover, and went live. Of course, it’s new and Spotify I’m sure has ideas, it just didn’t seem like things were completely ironed out before the launch.

The TLDR

So what do I think is the best? Well, it comes down to a specific question, “Are you a creator or just a user?”

The answer for a creator would be Clubhouse. The features and growth, outweigh all of the downsides that are more user-based.

Now for the user, I think Twitter Spaces is the champion! Being built inside an existing social media giant, allows the casual listener to engage the best with content they like, and if they want to also create they can without fear of an audience.

Now, what if I could choose the best three features of each and make a new app not integrated with an existing platform? Here’s what I would go with:

• Clubhouse’s Creation Hubs (See Clubhouse)
• Twitter Spaces’ More “Event Like” style (See Twitter Spaces)
• Spotify Greenroom’s Incentives To Speak (See Spotify Greenroom)

But what do you think about the social audio rise? What is your favorite app and features? Let me know in the comments or let's connect on Twitter @jcvaughan_ .