Pardon our candor, but this is getting a tad ridiculous. In the past two months it seems like nearly every big name in tech and social media is coming up with Clubhouse doppelgänger features. Twitter’s coming out with one, Instagram’s working on another, Discord is on board, and even Telegram is in on it. Now, professional social networking platform LinkedIn has confirmed that it’s the latest platform to jump on the social audio feature bandwagon.
LinkedIn, too?
A spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that plans to launch an audio-centered feature came about because members were asking for more communication avenues on the networking app. They told TechCrunch, “We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity. And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community.”
LinkedIn believes users will feel comfortable talking in these audio rooms because it will be linked to their “professional identities”, making it a seemingly perfect environment for digital meetings. Further, it plans to carry out careful moderation using its existing tools to keep the audio rooms free from harassment and harmful content, a valid concern for users.
“Our members come to LinkedIn to have respectful and constructive conversations with real people and we’re focused on ensuring they have a safe environment to do just that,” said the spokesperson.
While it is yet another Clubhouse lookalike, LinkedIn does seem like the place for it. For a professional networking platform, audio rooms seem to be a natural progression. We all know how hard it can be to communicate effectively using text, after all.