Peanut, a mobile social networking app for women, is the latest tech company to incorporate audio into its product, following Clubhouse's success. Peanut started with a focus on motherhood and has since grown to support women at all stages of their lives, including pregnancy, marriage, and even menopause. It sees its voice chat feature, named "Pods," as a way for women on its app to create stronger bonds in a more welcoming, secure atmosphere than other platforms.
Peanut is the first social media platform that brings together women in similar stages of life. Peanut's goal is to create a safe environment for women to form friendships, seek support, and learn from one another. The iOS and Android versions of the software are both available for free download.
Of course, the pandemic fueled some of the interest in audio-based social networking, as people who were stranded at home discovered that it filled the void that in-person networking and social activities had previously filled.
However, Clubhouse, the expert in voice chat social networking, has seen its concept transformed into just a feature that companies like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, Discord, and others have adopted.
Peanut's Pods, like many other Clubhouse copies, features a muted audience of listeners who digitally "raise their hand" to talk, emoji responses, and hosts who can moderate the conversations and invite people to speak, among other features.
While the architecture is similar to Clubhouse, Peanut claims that designed for women and constructed with protection and confidence in mind — would set it apart from the rest of the pack. It's also a network that people don't join for the sake of gaining clout.
According to Peanut founder and CEO Michelle Kennedy, traditional social networks are mostly dependent on how many likes, fans, or whether you're checked with a blue search.
“It’s kind of all based around status and popularity,” she says. “What we’ve only ever seen on Peanut is this ‘economy of care,’ where women are really supportive of one another. It’s really never been about, ‘I’ve got X number of followers.’ We don’t even have that concept. It’s always been about: ‘I need support; I have this question; I’m lonely or looking for a friend;’ or whatever it might be,” Kennedy adds.
Peanut Pods says it will continue to implement the safety standards that enable women to feel at ease while using social media. This emphasis, in particular, can appeal to some of the women, particularly women of colour, who have been harassed on other voice-based networking platforms.
“The one thing I would say is we’re a community, and we have standards,” notes Kennedy. “When you have standards and you let everyone know what those standards are, it’s very clear. You’re allowed an opinion but what you’re not allowed to do are listed here…Here are the things we expect of you as a user and we’ll reward you if you do it and if you don’t, we’re going to ask you to leave,” she says.
Freedom of speech is not what Peanut’s about, she adds.
“We have standards and we ask you to adhere to them,” says Kennedy.
