Reddit’s announcement that it is shutting down its live audio product Reddit Talk marks the end of an era for the platform. Clubhouse, a platform built on the same principles as Reddit Talk, rose to fame in the last year or so and quickly ran into competition from clones. However, in recent months Clubhouse’s popularity has faded and companies are rethinking their priorities. With Reddit Talk gone and other platforms such as Discord faltering, it seems like live audio is losing its appeal among today’s users.
Reddit is a social media platform with more than 500 million monthly visitors. The company plans to open the platform up for more people by incorporating audio and video. This will allow users to discover content beyond what they see in the search bar and on the traditional feed.
Reddit’s decision to discontinue its Talk service is likely the result of increased costs, stemming from the use of a third-party audio vendor. This platform ceased operations, making it more difficult and expensive for Reddit to keep Talk operational.
Reddit Talk will expire on March 21, and users can download talks until June 1. This is likely to avoid high storage costs for the platform. Talks that were hosted after September 22 are not eligible to be downloaded. This is likely due to the high cost of storing such content.
With the sunset of “Happening Now” and the restructuring of the company’s social media presence, users can no longer access real-time conversations. This discontinuation may represent a shift in how the company plans to interact with its audience.
Given that RedditTalk is a social network designed specifically for conversation, it makes sense that the company has focused on improving discovery and soundboard features in 2018. With improved searchability, users can easily find topics of interest and use the soundboard to create quick conversations. Additionally, RedditTalk introduced streamlined comments and message replies in addition to reddit-style voting options. These additions make it easier than ever for people to get involved in discussions and have meaningful conversations with others.
Some companies are realizing that live audio is not as successful as they thought it would be. As a result, they are scaling back on the production of shows and instead focusing on other strategies such as creating a better platform for conversations or making changes to their live audio strategy.
