Facebook Previews Its Clubhouse Competitor; Q&A with Gumroad’s Sahil Lavingia

Last week we wrote how Clubhouse was on a hiring spree that should help improve the quality of its audio and programming. The updates can’t come soon enough. On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a tour of its Clubhouse competitor, making Facebook the second large tech company after Twitter to come directly after the social audio startup’s market. 

The Facebook product, still in beta and dubbed Live Audio Rooms, wasn’t perfect. When Zuckerberg first took the virtual stage, his audio was echoing and my Facebook app initially didn’t show who was speaking. But those kinks quickly went away, and before long, it was hard to distinguish between a Clubhouse room or a Twitter Spaces. 

That was especially true because Facebook, never shy about copying the best of competitors’ features, borrows much from the Clubhouse experience—including photos of speakers at the top and a list of people in the virtual room.