What I learned moving from Zoom to Audio-Only AmAs

I started building building communities first as a volunteer, later as a professional at Bubble, and right now at Space, where I have been interviewing other community leaders in bi-weekly AmAs and building the Space community.

Part of this meant I did a lot of interviews, panels, and meetings. Since the beginning of the pandemic it has been non-stop video calls, even when we were only going to publish the audio. I thought there had to be a real benefit to seeing people's faces, until I tried Audio-Only conversations.

Why Audio-Only?

Honestly, I was experiencing real Zoom fatigue. Asynchronous chats felt impersonal and slow. I was looking to connect with people in real time without being locked into a phone call. I needed something different that let me connect with folks and have actual real conversations with them. Which is why I've been loving Space.

Some of the key benefits I found running and listening to audio-only events like my bi-weekly AmA include:

Get the audience involved. Folks can actively jump in and out of the conversation with a bit of insight or a quick questions. The room flows and folks can interact with me and the guest in real time.
The talks are incredibly easy to join. My guests can listen in from any device and be free to do other things while listening. (Walk the dog, drive their car, do the dishes, etc.)
Personal and humanizing. By hearing the unedited voices and unproduced conversations taking place, I found that very quickly I formed deeper connections and have more authentic experiences with the folks who jumped into the conversation. It's easy to forget their are people at the other end of the messages on Slack.
People are more authentic. I don't know what it is about the audio-only experience but people are more likely to think out loud, share real and meaningful insights, and be themselves. Maybe it's because they aren't concerned with the lighting, their hair, or whatever, but it's a better experience all around.

Overall, I haven't found a method of remote communication that has so quickly made me feel like I got to know folks and their true authentic selves as quickly as when I used Space.

BTW, I'd love to interview you if you have a growing community

As I mentioned, I host bi-weekly community chats with community leaders. You can learn more and sign up to be interviewed here: Community Chats!

What Exactly is Space?

Space is the first audio-first community platform built first and foremost to empower creators to build and manage their communities through voice-chats. We are accomplishing this by taking a creator-focused approach to how we build, focusing on the features that help you deliver great experiences, build your audiences, and successfully moderate your communities.