Facebook launched the Hotline on Wednesday, an experimental online forum the social media giant is trying to take up space in the live audio trend popularized by Clubhouse. The Facebook application is essentially an evolution of Reddit’s Ask Me Anything sessions and Clubhouse, the audio-only social media sensation that started a year ago and boomed during the pandemic.
The hotline offers users a mix of voice, text and video options for participating in online discussions with hosts.
Users can ask questions in writing via the hotline. This is not possible in the clubhouse. Meanwhile, the speakers can choose who they want to invite “on stage” to speak.
“With the hotline, we want to understand how interactive, live multimedia questions and answers can help people learn from experts in areas such as professional skills, as well as helping these experts build their business,” a Facebook spokeswoman told AFP .
Session headliners have the option to turn on their web cameras to be seen and can also remove abusive comments from text chats, Facebook said, confirming an earlier report on TechCrunch.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that Twitter was in talks to acquire Clubhouse for $ 4 billion. However, it was further reported that the talks are no longer taking place.
(With AFP inputs)
