Anchor For iOS Brings Social Audio To Life

By @TheMarkDalton

A new app has been recently released on iOS which brings a new twist on a social network. Anchor describes itself as an easy way of creating short podcasts that others can respond to with their own audio comments. Its like audio blogging, more casual than podcasting, something new and fresh compared to the other social networks we use so often at the moment. 

The setup and onboarding process is slick and easy, you are walked through the setup steps and you can connect to your Twitter account which will allow you to import information and follow twitter users who are already on the anchor platform. You will also be walked through the process of creating your first audio clip as well.

The you will be thrown into a feed of your Twitter followers who are already using the app. At the moment a lot of the posts are mainly introductions as that is what many of us (myself included) will choose to do for our first audio clip. If you want to find more substantial and some different content then simply head to the search tab.

Recording an Anchor clip is easy and feels very natural, you hold the record button and then place the phone up to you ear as if you are talking to someone else. Record what you want to say and when you are done you can put it live. Others can then respond to your audio clip with their own audio clips.

The app design is focused solely around the audio aspect of the platform which is the way it should be. It is easy to navigate, easy to use and easy to understand. Reading and typing is kept to a minimum. Co-founder Michael Mignano says that:

“We believe audio products should be built more for your ears and your voice, and less for your eyes and your fingers. To that end, Anchor has elements of audio cues, narration, transition bumpers, the ability to listen with your phone closed or in your pocket, and other features that value audio over visuals.”

Social audio has been attempted before by different companies such as Audioboo in 2009 however it was somewhat before its time. It is possible that social audio’s time is now here but we will have to wait before we are certain.

Getting people to stick with audio platforms can be a challenge in comparison to platforms based off text. Quite simply, lots of people cringe when they hear their own voice being played back to them and that can make it tough for platforms like Anchor to break through and stick around.

However they have made a solid start so far and it is refreshing to see a new and different approach to a social platform compared to others being launched recently.

You can download Anchor for iOS at the following link – Anchor [iOS]