Twitter is becoming a podcast app

Twitter is officially getting into podcasts. The app will launch a test version of Twitter Spaces today that includes podcasts, letting you listen to full shows through curated playlists based on your interests.

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.

Twitter and web accounts could be a useful fit. Twitter Spaces, which was shipped off in 2020 intently following Clubhouse's pandemic accomplishment, at this point gives the application foothold in sound. That is the thing jones said, considering association data, 45% of Twitter clients are in like manner month-to-month webcast crowd individuals (taking into account how news-arranged Twitter is, that appears to be OK). Meanwhile, data revealed by tech criminal investigators as of late uncovered that Twitter was attempting various things with a web recording tab.

That turned out to be somewhat legitimate. "We were evaluating different considerations," Jones said. "As we were managing down the stone, we worked out this way, but web accounts were consistently going to be fundamental for Spaces."

Jones would not say when users can expect an official launch, but he said the final version of the feature would be influenced by how people respond to the test. If you are one of the selected guinea pigs, feel free to hit me up about your experience!

In conclusion, Twitter is quickly becoming a podcast app. With its easy-to-use interface and growing list of features, it is no wonder that so many people are using Twitter to listen to podcasts. Twitter has also made it easy for users to find and follow their favorite podcasts, which makes it even more convenient to use. Whether you are a casual podcast listener or a hardcore podcast fan, Twitter is a great option for you.

Twitter is slowly but surely becoming a podcast app. With the recent integration of audio clips and the ability to publish long-form content, it is well on its way to becoming a one-stop shop for all your audio needs. Whether you're looking for the latest news or a comedy podcast, Twitter is becoming the place to go.

Numan Malik