Audio features from Twitter and Facebook seem ancillary at best. Twitter has been expanding Spaces, and as of October any user can host one. But plans to give the feature its own tab in the Twitter app have been put on hold.

Only 2% of the country’s teens and adults used Twitter Spaces as of January 2022, while 1% each used Clubhouse and Spotify Live (formerly Spotify Greenroom), per an Edison Research and Triton Digital study. While Spotify is shuttering its Live creator fund, Amazon is marching to a different beat, introducing Amp, its own take on the format, just last month.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver, Sara M. Watson, and Nicole Perrin, along with junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch, discuss the latest government lawsuits against Google, Twitter's new "Spaces" audio feature, 2021 Super Bowl commercials, the reception to Apple's new privacy labels, The Walt Disney Co. throwing its weight behind streaming, what all "Friends" episodes have in common, and more.

eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Jasmine Enberg discusses when travel (and travel advertising) will recover and some good and not-so-good examples of how travel advertisers are running campaigns. She then talks about whether Twitter can make a space for healthy conversations, our expectations for WhatsApp, and the significance of social platforms ending the year looking more alike than ever.

Twitter Spaces. Description: Spaces is Twitter’s answer to Clubhouse. After several months of testing, it is scheduled to roll out for both iOS and Android users this month. Assuming Twitter holds true to its current plan, any Twitter user will be able to host a Space, either by starting it from a tweet or from the Fleets section at the top of the mobile app.

Snap, Twitter, and TikTok stopped Russian advertising, and Spotify closed its office in Moscow and suspended some Russian state content on its services. Snap, which was founded by a Ukrainian company, pledged $15 million in humanitarian aid. AMD suspended chip sales to Russia and Belarus.

Twitter invested in Bitcoin payment provider OpenNode’s $20 million funding round.

Twitter announced a broader rollout of its “Spaces” tab, which will help users more easily discover audio rooms in progress. Why it’s happening: As interest in social audio has dropped off, its future might be as a supplementary feature rather than a discrete platform.

Social media usage gains from 2020 have largely ended. Facebook will have its lowest growth rate ever, Instagram’s user base is getting older, and Twitter is coming down with a case of post-election malaise. However, TikTok and Reddit are still attracting users at an accelerated pace.

On today's episode, we discuss emerging podcast sub-worlds, how listener behavior has (permanently?) changed, and how the ad dollars are fairing. We then talk about what we expect from Twitter's Ticketed Spaces, what is going on in the world of print, and how Americans get their news on social media. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Twitter launched Spaces for its iOS, Android, and web applications. LinkedIn leveraged its Creator Mode to include potential Clubhouse-like audio features. Facebook rushed live audio rooms coming to Messenger and Instagram. But then something unexpected happened. Much like a comet, Clubhouse’s unprecedented popularity suddenly completely fizzled.

With new rivals like Substack and Clubhouse offering users the ability to do the above and make money, Twitter has had to respond with features like Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces, which rolled out earlier this week. Twitter has more in store, specifically around its acquisition of newsletter publishing platform Revue.

Dig deeper: The May 2020 acquisition of Giphy—to the tune of $400 million—drew immediate backlash from watchdogs concerned about Meta’s growing control over the digital ad space. Twitter, Snapchat, and other competitors have Giphy integrations or keyboard add-ons. The CMA pointed out that Meta could block these platforms’ access to Giphy, or require them to share their users’ data.

Here’s how marketers can navigate Q3 2021’s product, commerce, and monetization changes on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitter.

On today's episode, we discuss Twitter's Q2 performance, which features are likely to boost engagement, and what the rest of the year looks like. We then talk about what to make of Fleets being folded, the potential impact of Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces, and what, if anything, can give Clubhouse a second wind. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Jasmine Enberg.

LinkedIn is working on its own social audio feature to compete with Clubhouse, the professional network confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday, making it the third Big Tech company after Twitter and Spotify to invest in the social audio space.

Facebook lays out its social audio plan: The tech giant is taking on Clubhouse, but with the space getting more crowded and the buzz dying down, it may be difficult to succeed.

Tipping comes to Clubhouse: The social audio app will now let users tip hosts, likely a play to keep creators on the platform as they’re in danger of being poached by bigger players like Twitter and Twitch.

In yesterday's live podcast (broadcast on Clubhouse), we discussed the audio social network movement: the advantages, disadvantages, key players, and what marketers should consider. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Debra Aho Williamson and Jeremy Goldman, and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Instagram Stories has its share of copycats, even if some were short lived, like Twitter Fleets and LinkedIn Stories. Additional spaces also include premium content havens like Facebook Watch and, most recently, a rush of social livestreaming destinations, notably including Pinterest TV.

The Weekly Listen: Google sued over ad monopoly, Twitter 'Spaces,' and Super Bowl ads. US Time Spent with Media 2021 Update: Pivotal Moments for TV, Subscription OTT, Digital Audio, and Social Media.