Following reports that Facebook may be jumping on the newsletter train, it appears that the social network is working on its own version of one of the most popular apps, Clubhouse. The iOS audio chat app (which is currently invite-only) blew up last week when Elon Musk showed it off and chatted with his users. Mark Zuckerberg also recently showed up for a chat, so the Facebook CEO obviously has some interest in Clubhouse.
However, Zuckerberg may not stay in the app, especially if Facebook creates a Clubhouse competitor. According to The New York Times, Facebook leaders have asked developers to create the company’s own audio chat service, which is said to be in the early stages of development.
Facebook, of course, has seldom spotted a tech trend that it didn’t quickly catch up to. It has a long history of (ahem) borrowing ideas from competitors, often with great success. Instagram Stories emerged as a clone of the fleeting Snapchat photos and videos. The company has also released versions of TikTok (Instagram Reels) and Zoom (Messenger Rooms) for the past year.
