MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW - Jan 26 - The latest apps bring back the intimacy of the spoken word - but there are serious moderation issues to be addressed. The best-known audio-focused network is Clubhouse but it lacks moderation. Gaming chat app Discord has also exploded in popularity. The service uses voice-over-IP software to translate spoken chat into text. By Oct, Discord estimated 6.7M users - up from 1.4M in Feb. Jimi Tele, the CEO of Chekmate, a "text-free" dating app that connects users through voice and video, says he wanted to launch an app that would be "catfish-proof". Users start voice memos that average 5s and then get progressively longer. And while Chekmate has a video option, Tele says the app's users favor using just their voices. This immediacy and authenticity is the reason Gilles Poupardin created Cappuccino, an app that takes voice recordings from a closed group of friends or family and delivers them as downloadable audio.
by Tanya Basu
See full article at MIT Technology Review
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