Facebook Adds Audio Recognition
Facebook takes the mantra of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and regularly spins it on its head. And for the most part, the updates are helpful! Sure, people like to complain about things on the Internet, so anytime anyone changes anything, you’re sure to witness the hell-storm that is an Internet backlash. Especially when it’s Facebook: It seems like the new Timeline rollout caused blood vessels to burst worldwide. And we got to read all about it on peoples’ Facebook profiles. Oh, the irony.
Anyway, continuing to better the Facebook experience, the social network is now rolling out a Shazam-like feature, so songs you’re listening to and TV shows you’re watching will be included in your status updates. Relatively calm, suitable? (Editor’s note: We might see a decline in guilty pleasure music being listened to when making updates. Sorry, Kesha.) Facebook’s new Audio Recognition service will activate your phone’s microphone, pick up the TV show or song you’re listening to, and tag that information in your News Feed post. To further the engagement, your friends and anyone who sees the post can listen to a 30-second preview of the song or see a link to a TV show’s page.
This isn’t just a blind update with no stats to back it up. (That wouldn’t be very Facebook of Facebook now, would it?) The social media outlet has put much into this update based on the company’s feelings and sharing option research that they rolled out last year, allowing users to insert emoticons and how they felt into their updates. According to Facebook, 5 billion posts have used the option to share what you’re feeling (excited, tired), doing (Drinking coffee, playing basketball), or what media you’re enjoying. Facebook Audio Recognition takes this further to make each post a unique share for each user.
The song’s sound clips will be able to play via APIs from Spotify, Rdio, and Deezer. No word yet on whether or not users will ever get to share video clips from the TV show they are currently watching, as licensing issues limit this ability. Instead, Facebook will display the season and episode number, a thumbnail image, and a link to the show’s Facebook Page.
What this means for other audio ID services is unknown, but knowing Facebook’s reach and people’s want to streamline everything could spell trouble.
Facebook hopes this new Audio Recognition feature will further the discussion of music and television on their social media outlet. Currently, Twitter is the place these conversations are happening for the most part. Time will tell there, but this update is a step in the right direction for Facebook.
US Facebook says that the Audio Recognition feature will roll out gradually to US users on iOS and Android over the coming weeks. So keep an eye out and listen to some decent tunes. And maybe not watching Wings reruns. (Kidding. Wings ruled!)
Next up, Food and Drink Recognition. Hopefully. Because I don’t want to put my pizza down.
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