https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditTalk/comments/z7zhw8/winding_down_the_live_bar_experiment/
created by advocado20 on 29/11/2022 at 17:00 UTC*
14 upvotes, 25 top-level comments (showing 25)
Hey all,
Here with the latest update on Talk. We decided against moving forward with the Live Bar and will wind it down starting as early as next week, on December 6th.
We originally started the Live Bar as an experiment to help drive discovery of Talks. Though we did see it help drive awareness of some Talks, it unfortunately didn’t drive the results needed to justify the space it took up in the home feed.
You will still be able to host Talk’s in subreddits - as this update only affects Talks appearing in the Live Bar.
That said, we are testing another discovery surface. The new “Happening Now” page (reddit.com/now[1] on Desktop), where we surface Talks (and Chats) happening in subreddits you follow, as well as popular ones around Reddit. This is currently rolling out and may not be available to you just yet. You can read more about the Happening Now page in our changelog here[2].
Experiments help build an understanding of the trade-offs of a feature being fully rolled out. This means constantly evaluating how it’s being used in order to make a decision that creates the best experience possible. Especially when it comes to a feature that would be a part of all Redditor’s experience.
As usual, we will also stick around for a while to answer any questions and receive any feedback you have in the comments below.
Reddit Talk Team
Comment by Taalian at 29/11/2022 at 18:39 UTC
37 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I fully agree with others that taking this feature away is going to negatively effect many of the smaller subs. The space taken up on the home page, hasn’t ever been an issue to those of us using the app (in fact I’ve heard COUNTLESS times “I didn’t even know these existed, this is SO cool!”). It takes up less than an inch of the home page, and seemingly most people love having it there (myself included). Please reconsider this decision 💚🙏
Comment by iamdeirdre at 29/11/2022 at 18:43 UTC
21 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Just make the bar toggleable! That way the people who are open to see it will, and the grumpy, I hate everything folks can ignore it!
Comment by [deleted] at 29/11/2022 at 17:28 UTC*
19 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I’m a moderator at r/MentalHealthIsland. We grew to 6000 in 2 months because people who seek some mental health support could find us through the talk bar.
I just want to point out how getting rid of the talk bar affects smaller and growing communities WAY more than it does communities of hundreds of thousands or millions. Just putting my voice out there. The talk bar should be shown based on the chosen interest of the Redditors, at least.
It’s a shame. Will the “happening now” link be somewhere to at least have some visibility to Redditors?
Comment by Outrageous-Collar-09 at 29/11/2022 at 18:06 UTC
17 upvotes, 1 direct replies
This Reddit function hasn’t just helped some, it’s helped many. Please reconsider this decision.
r/MentalHealthIsland has become a safe haven for so many people. So many people have found solace in this space and it’s members. And it’s growing. Please understand what affect this decision could have on the growth of subreddits that are doing good hard work to help people.
Comment by German_Bimbo at 29/11/2022 at 18:31 UTC
17 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Please reconsider. The talks have been an amazing opportunity for people to connect and made reddit even more diverse and open ended. Seeing the bar go would be just sad.
Comment by roanwolf75 at 29/11/2022 at 22:27 UTC*
14 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Hello, I am yet another moderator on r/mentalhealthisland.
You can see that we all have strong feelings about the Live Bar removal. This decision can and will have a negative impact on many Reddit communities.
We have observed this during the temporary instances in which the Live Bar was not functioning properly. During that time, our existing members had challenges locating our Live Chats. No new members appeared at all.
Most of our current members stumbled upon our group *because* of the Live Bar.
I would strongly urge you to maintain the Live Bar so that our communities can both sustain themselves and continue to grow.
Please reconsider.
Comment by kevaljoshi8888 at 29/11/2022 at 17:28 UTC
14 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Hello. My name is Keval and I run the Poems and Chill talk on Haywire Hill. I just read the post about the live bar feature bring removed. Is there any way as a host I could give feedback regarding this? I feel it will seriously impair the discoveribility of talks.
The live bar allows us to discover other talks and now what's happening around reddit. I feel it should be explained and prompted more, rather than shut down and replaced so quickly.
Especially as communities take time to develop. We are seeing a lot of communities organically develop, but growth needs new people. The live bar allows that to happen.
I would really like as a host and content creator to be able to share feedback on these issues as well, before we find out they are going to be removed. That is all. Thank you for listening.
Comment by [deleted] at 29/11/2022 at 21:37 UTC
11 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by _DizzyChicken at 29/11/2022 at 22:53 UTC*
11 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Just another person from mental health island, but also the happy hour chat..
I’m yet to see the “Happening now” feature on my device. Shattered, without the talk bar, this going to drastically tank our subs/traffic. I’m not a tech guy but can’t you add a “keep” or “hide” notification or button on the talk bar or something? ☹️👎🏼 Damn, it was good while it lasted.
Comment by SafeInside6750 at 29/11/2022 at 18:16 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Hi, I’m a moderator at r/mentalhealthisland
I joined the sub after losing my mother and found solace in the peer support space. We have grown roughly over 6000 people and continue to be growing due to the live bar option.
Please reconsider this, reddit. The live bar option has helped a countless amount of people with their day to day lives. It has ensured a sense of belonging and safety for so many. The hard work of subreddits will go unseen if this is followed thru. Please reconsider.
Comment by Lottielittleleaf at 30/11/2022 at 05:01 UTC*
9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Please reconsider! Smaller communities that were built on the back of the Talk feature and focus primarily on Talks rely on the discoverability provided by the livebar to grow. People really love to stumble upon talks and have a great time chatting and discovering new communities. I created r/stonercornertalk specifically for reddit talk and we grew 2k members in less than two months, all people who found us from the livebar.
Comment by Theconfusedblonde at 29/11/2022 at 23:26 UTC*
8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I suggested a live feed bar months ago via Talk Squad before it was Talk Squad.
As feedback (not asked for I know!) I browse Reddit in my mobile almost exclusively. The talks on the live bar at the top are not always there. Even if talks are talks are currently taking place.
So I disagree with the conclusion that it’s not popular - it won’t be if it’s not showing up for users to select.
I used to think this was because no talks were taking place so tested this by clicked through on a direct link to the task and chats list and saw them taking place. (I can provide the link on request)
Please keep the live bar - because when it actually shows up it’s wonderful and Iv discovered so many new communities this way. As selfish as that may sound!
Comment by ShepherdessAnne at 30/11/2022 at 00:49 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Boo, I actually used the live bar. Just make it something people can toggle off and on? Just make it optional?
If you're going to do "happening now" then bring back RPAN there as well you cowards
Comment by AkaashMaharaj at 29/11/2022 at 21:11 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Removing the live bar would be a mistake. It is the single most powerful way to bring Reddit Talks to the attention of the community.
There are obvious adverse implications to getting rid of it, and no obvious benefits.
This decision makes me anxious about Reddit's commitment to live-audio. I hope the platform does not plan to discontinue Reddit Talk, as it has recently discontinued RPAN.
Comment by ILWeasel at 30/11/2022 at 07:43 UTC*
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The live bar is currently the only home for reddit talks aggregating all the talks currently taking place. If you're gonna remove it please make sure that reddit talks has a new home elsewhere on the mobile app, where all the current talks are presented (not just by subs I'm subscribed to). Also if it doesn't take prime realestate such as the live bar and exists in a more drill down location, please open it back up to u/ hosted talks and not just sub hosted talks. Let the people have their talks!! We (well I) love this feature so much, remove the restraints and let it live!!!
Comment by Revolutionary_Pack54 at 30/11/2022 at 09:24 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I strongly disagree with removing it. The live bar is a big part of how talk discovery is happening, and it takes up very little real estate from the overall site, meaning the people who weren't into the feature aren't bombarded by it.
Your proposed solution is an entire page, which either means putting it off the default home page (significantly reducing traffic to these talks) or making it part of the default home page (needlessly cluttering the home page and annoying anyone who wasn't looking for a live interaction). It's a lose-lose. Just make improvements to the live bar instead of pulling a stunt like this (why can't you have the live bar AND also a dedicated page?)
Comment by AllOutCareers at 07/12/2022 at 08:35 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
u/avacado20 I wanted to provide some feedback.
I posted in the Reddit Talk discord about a horrible experience on my talk tonight on r/AllOutCareers.
Basically the live bar is gone, no one is getting push notifications and the happening now page isn’t available to everyone.
No one showed up to my weekly talk which usually has 30 -50 people. I sent screenshots in discord.
A few hours later, my app updated on mobile and I can see the happening now section but it’s not intuitive like the live bar. People want and need less clicks and notifications. But they also want the ability to turn them off
We need discoverability and notifications if we want to keep Talks alive.
I had to cancel my weekly talk and send a message in the community to let them know what’s going on. We will resume next week if this is fixed but as it stands, it’s pointless for me to have a talk by myself.
Is this Reddit’s way of winding down the Talk feature? If so, I’d like a heads up so I can prepare to move my social audio and community somewhere else.
Comment by Sun_Beams at 29/11/2022 at 17:10 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Oh thats a shame 😕 it wasn't even that big!
Comment by t-bonestallone at 29/11/2022 at 22:37 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Thank you for the update. RedditTalks was really nice while it lasted.
Comment by pwap_official at 03/12/2022 at 09:28 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
With the removal of the Live Bar, Discoverability of Talks hosted by smaller subs like my own r/ModernMediaMakers will definitely be an issue. Even though I don't mind the "Happening Now" feature, it might be better to explain what will happen when you click on it. E.g. "Live Chats".
Or maybe promote "Happening Now" within the feed itself, similar to an ad. It would certainly draw people's attention to it and make them feel like it was a part of their feed rather than a hindrance or distraction. Not sure if such a feature could be displayed once they scroll. Just my thoughts.
Comment by [deleted] at 18/01/2023 at 11:07 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It’s absolutely absurd that everyone LITERALLY EVERYONE has felt negatively about this being taken down, from mods to members, and yet Reddit won’t listen to its people. I know Reddit is too big to fail rn but this is how you get negative PR. Please reconsider this decision.
Comment by 1_BigPapi at 10/12/2022 at 09:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I think at least on large sub's the major challenge is being seen. We can only sticky two items a day and on a busy day I can't replace those.. and can't sticky a talk in advance AFAIK anyways.
Comment by MrsBoopTheSnoot at 29/11/2022 at 20:16 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm excited for the "Happening Now" option and look forward to seeing how it's perceived by the user base!
Comment by lipuss at 29/11/2022 at 17:40 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
How come there are many people that applied for Talks in their subreddit through the Google form, yet still haven’t heard back after weeks (myself included)?
Seems like this is going against your best interest of making talks more widely known on the platform
Comment by ILWeasel at 01/12/2022 at 18:50 UTC*
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Why not put a 'chat history' under 'profile' & populating it with chats where you were a speaker for more than ~30min, if you're already recording them