How does it work?
While it visually resembles familiar social networking apps, offering features such as following other users, scrolling through post feeds and engaging with posts through replies, likes and shares, Airchat is accessible only by invitation, and focuses on audio recordings that are transcribed within the app.
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Are voice notes popular?
Voice notes as a means of online communication have been gaining popularity for some time now. In the US, as per a study by online language learning platform Preply, 40% of the respondents said that voice notes substituted live phone conversations. In 2022, Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp said that it was seeing 7 billion voice notes being sent every day on the platform.
Is Airchat the first to venture into audio-based social networking?
No, social networking platforms have previously explored the potential of voice-based interactions, as seen with Clubhouse, which saw high user interest initially but struggled to sustain and capitalise on that momentum.
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Airchat’s approach with asynchronous, threaded posts is aimed at offering users a different experience compared to the live chat rooms, which briefly gained popularity on Clubhouse. A first version of Airchat was launched in 2023, but did not gain traction. The new rendition of the app was launched earlier this month.
How has the tech community responded to Airchat?
The app has garnered significant interest among tech founders and enthusiasts, leading to increased adoption as well as scepticism. “As a consumer, as someone consuming content, the app was okay. Maybe above average. Because it was giving me a lot of cognitive overload. But when I created content, that experience is magical. Absolutely magical,” Gaurav Munjal, CEO of Unacademy wrote on X.
What led to the decline in user interest for platforms like Clubhouse?
Clubhouse initially surged in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, attracting millions of users, including celebrities and entrepreneurs. However, the app struggled to maintain this momentum due to several factors.
To begin with, it faced challenges in introducing new features, leading to a drop-off in user engagement. Additionally, removing the invite-only requirement diminished the sense of exclusivity that initially drew users.
Moreover, the platform encountered difficulties in monetisation amid increasing competition from larger players such as Spotify, Facebook and Twitter (now X). However, following Clubhouse, several large social media apps, including Facebook and Twitter, launched voice-based services.
How does Airchat plan to reshape the social audio segment?
When asked whether Airchat would prompt long-format podcasts to transition into shorter, condensed content by a user on the platform, Ravikant said that he no longer felt there was a need for podcasts as everything was becoming bite-sized. He also said that with this shift, Airchat could make podcasting more competitive with platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.
Ravikant also said Airchat’s founders didn’t currently have any monetisation plans for Airchat. Due to a significant influx of new users, the app has temporarily halted invitations to manage the surge in demand.
