At the end of last month, Discord introduces stage channels, a Like a clubhouse feature that allows community servers to broadcast audio conversations to a group of people without everyone talking to each other. Now, the company plans to make it easier to find these broadcasts and the servers that host them.
In June, Discord will roll out a feature called Stage Discovery. You’ll see it as a new in-app interface that will highlight some of the stage channels that are broadcasting at that exact moment, including those from servers you’re already a member of. You can tap any of them to start listening without leaving the Stage Discovery interface. However, if you decide to click, you’ll find that Discord has made a small but, in their opinion, a significant tweak to the Stage Channels interface. At the top, you’ll find a new icon that you can click or tap to join the community that has put together the discussion you’re currently listening to.
Discord
Discord positions Stage Discovery as another tool that servers can use to increase their numbers. “Audio events are great, but they’re a window into Discord’s communities,” says Jesse Wofford, senior director of product marketing for the company. “We don’t want you to scroll endlessly through Stage Discovery. The goal for us is for you to watch these audio events as a way to find a new community.”
The introduction of Stage Channels and now a new tool for finding these conversations comes after a year of significant changes for Discord. Thanks in large part to the pandemic, the company has seen people flock to its platform. In 2020, year-over-year user growth doubled, and now Discord says it has over 150 million monthly active users and 19 million active servers. Last year, Discord also started rebranding, an effort that continues today, to distance itself from its previous identity as a primarily gaming-focused app. Going forward, you’ll see the company continue to invest in features that allow it to play to a more diverse audience. As an example, he’s working on adding support for ticketed audio events later this year.
At the same time, the company is aware of the perception that it is moving away from the narrow focus that made it stand out in the first place, but it feels like it has built its platform to ‘a way that allows you to engage with her the way you want to. . “It’s something we think about every day,” says Wofford. “Ultimately, you choose these communities. Even if a million more people join Discord tomorrow, your experience is still what you choose to be.”
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