Is Facebook trying Voice Clip status updates?

Social media giant Facebook is reportedly testing Voice Clips as a status update option with a small percentage of users in India.

"We are always working to help people share and connect with their friends and family on Facebook in ways that are authentic to them. Voice Clips gives people a new medium through which to express themselves," TechCrunch quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying.

A more intimate option than text, but easier to record than a video, Facebook hopes that Voice Clips could get people sharing more on its social network.

Moreover, internationally, where users may have to deal with non-native language keyboards, Voice Clips let them speak their mind without a typing barrier.

To access this new feature, users select "Add Voice Clip" from the status update composer menu that includes photo uploads, location check-ins and more.

They see a waveform of their voice while they record, and can talk for as long as their device storage allows without a specific limit from Facebook.

Users can then preview their clip (but not edit it), and share it to the News Feed where friends can hit play to listen while watching the waveform animation.

But unlike some audio apps, users can't close Facebook and keep listening to the voice note.

Facebook already offers private Voice Clip sharing through Messenger, but the popularity of podcasting has exploded in recent years.

If Twitter made blogging into microblogging, perhaps quick shares to the News Feed could let Facebook pioneer micropodcasting.