Silicon Valley Technology Dudes love their edgy new social media ventures. The latest is Airchat, an audio-focused social app that allows its users to express all their thoughts by posting short audio snippets. All of these snippets are displayed in an endless, Twitter-style feed. There are answers, there are direct messages, but you don’t have to write; everything is spoken audio. The platform is invite-only for now, so the current user base is mostly made up of Valley insiders, optimistic venture capitalists, and crypto evangelists, which definitely informs the types of conversations you’ll find on the app. If you’re thinking this sounds a lot like Clubhouse, the audio-based social space that exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic, well, you’re not far off.
This week on Gadget Lab, we talk to WIRED Director of Special Projects Alan Henry about making sounds with your mouth in Airchat and whether the buzzy new social startup will appeal to anyone outside of the Silicon Valley technosphere.
Show notes
Read Lauren’s story about Airchat.
recommendations
Alan recommends the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt. Lauren recommends Julian Chokkattu’s review of the Humane Ai Pin and Ladle, a film about journalism streaming on Netflix. Mike recommends our new bro podcast, WIRED Politics Lab.
Alan can be found on social media @phoenix halo. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode. Michael Calore is @snack fight. Bling the main hotline at @gadget lab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our musical theme is Solar keys.
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