Twitter announced today that it is integrating podcasts into its platform as part of its newly designed Spaces tab. The revamped Spaces tab and the addition of podcasts will be visible to a global English-speaking audience on iOS and Android starting today.
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The redesign introduces personalized hubs for users called “Stations” that group content based on different topics, such as news, music, sports and more. The recommendations you see will be based on the topics and people you follow. Twitter users will now be able to access a personalized selection of live and recorded Spaces. The hubs will also feature the most popular podcasts from around the world.
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Once you open the Spaces tab, you’ll see three sections. At the top of the tab, you’ll see Stations, which scroll horizontally and feature various topics and themes to listen to. Below that, you’ll see the Spaces spotlight, which lists some of the top curated audio. Finally, you’ll see a list of upcoming Spaces.
Today's announcement isn't exactly a surprise, given that the social network has been spotted testing a podcast addition for the past couple of months. However, initial tests showed that Twitter was working on a dedicated tab for podcasts, but today's launch shows that Twitter is interested in making podcasts part of Spaces, rather than giving them their own home on the platform.
Twitter says its internal research shows that 45% of people who use Twitter in the US also listen to podcasts, so now the company will automatically suggest podcasts to help users discover content based on the topics they're interested in.
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When asked if Twitter has a timeline for a broader rollout or desktop launch of podcasts, a spokesperson for the social network told TechCrunch that the company will gather feedback from the initial test and roll out the feature in the near future.
Information source: techcrunch.com
