4 Audio focused Social Media Platforms that you need to know about in 2020!
There are a few voice-based social networks around today. They have been propelled by the new audio wave that just hit the market. New hardware such as earphones, echos, google homes, and Podcasts have paved the way to a new audio frenzy around the globe.
Therefore, audio is in a new high, and everybody wants in. I usually call this new audio wave the third sound wave. We had in the past the radios (1st wave). We had the first wave of podcasts (2nd wave) that were brutally interrupted by the traditional social media and new ways to create video content, and now we have this third wave around podcasts and new audio technologies.
Although people are listening more than ever to audios, it is still a lonely experience where content creators still need 3rd party apps to interact with their listeners, it is hard to post, and it is a tough job to be discovered. In the radio era you could call the radio station and talk to the producers, but what now?
There come a few social networks around audio that are trying to solve this problem.
Here is a list of 4 social networks out there that you can't miss, laid out in alphabetical order, as well as a brief explanation and differences based on their websites and from usage on some of them:
Available today for iOS and Android, Audlist is an audio-focused social network. Audlist lets you post longer content audios as well as short content ones. There is no maximum length on the sounds that you can post.
Audlist allows you to interact with the content creators sending audio messages on their posts. There is no writing while interacting. The most you can write is a short title for your audio post.
Audlist also lets you post a photo with your audio to illustrate what you are talking about right now.
Audlist will let you post multiple images per post soon and have a few features on their roadmap such as direct messages, audio stories (that will stay only for 24hrs on your feed), voice modifiers, autoplay, and much more.
Some podcasters have already started posting their content to Audlist as well as ordinary people posting shorter content around their day to day activities.
The app is free.
Available today for iOS and Android — The platform is focused on audios of up to 42-second. Hear Me Out also allows you to add one photo as the cover image of your post.
HearMeOut lets you share your content on any other social platform such as Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, etc.
HearMeOut has integrations with car technologies and lets you listen to all posts without the need to choose each one. They also have a few sound effects to add to your post like 70’s radio, morning bass, among others.
HearMeOut allows you to comment on other people’s posts in the written form.
The app is free to use.
Available for iOS and Android — Listen is a different approach to audio, social content. Listen, let’s you record your voice and send it to others. After that, you start a 1:1 conversation with someone.
Even their name on the stores is Listen — Voice Chat, so they are trying a new approach.
They are free to download but offers In-App Purchases
Available today for iOS and Android — Rift focused on audios of 5 seconds to 3 minutes long, therefore short form as I would call. Rift also allows you to add one cover image to your sound and add voice modifiers.
Rifft allows you to share your posts in all other social networks as well.
The app is free to use.
CONCLUSION
In other words, there are plenty of voice-based social media around today. They have been propelled by the new audio wave that came with Podcasts and new audio devices.
In the audios constrained by time limits, you have a bunch of options that are somewhat of the "equivalents" of Twitter for audio to choose around. My guess that the biggest one today in terms of usage of its kind is HearMeOut.
If you are looking for longer audio content or more flexibility, I would say that Audlist is probably your best choice here. I am a little biased as I am the co-founder, so download all try them and let me know what you think.
