2020 was filled with awkward Zoom meetings in pyjamas, forgetting to reply to countless emails, and missing out on the human connection of having a good old conversation.
We all miss those everyday chats with our co-workers at lunch, and for those working from home since the pandemic began last year, it’s been hard to connect with people on a deeper level.
Well, there’s finally a solution! – sort of. Clubhouse is a new social media networking site that allows users to learn from others by listening into real-time conversations, through an invitation only platform. That’s right, invitation only! Talk about exclusive.
The app is now available to both IOS and Android, and allows users to listen and engage in podcast-like conversations. Imagine listening to your favourite podcast, but then being able to unmute yourself and ask a question or add an interesting insight. That’s essentially what Clubhouse encompasses.
What Is It and How Does It Work?
The Guardian describes Clubhouse as a mashup of talkback radio, conference calls and HouseParty. Clubhouse is based on the idea that audio is an important mode of communication, and that people should be able to spread their message without worrying about what they’re wearing and where they are.
This unique value is delivered through a channel that is audio only, eliminating the stress of appearance over video chat. No more trying not to look at yourself in that little window while presenting! Imagine a few people having a conversation, that thousands of people can then listen in on, which simulates an advancement of real-life tone and engagement.
Users can create a room where they lead community discussion on any topic they wish (politics, economics, pop culture, the possibilities are truly endless), while others join the room to contribute to the discussion, or simply listen in as if it were a podcast.
Is It Popular?
Clubhouse was launched by two entrepreneurs in 2020, and within two months the platform had 1500 users and a net worth of $100 million.
As of early this year, the platform had grown to 2 million users, and was valued at $1 billion. Clubhouse is now valued at $4 billion, as of April 2021.
Why Invitation Only?
Of course, if you’re one of the richest men in the world like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, you don’t really need to worry about who is going to invite you to join Clubhouse! But for the rest of the regular population, it can be harder to score that golden ticket.
The reason for Clubhouse’s ‘invitation only’ policy allowed the channel to grow organically and slowly. Eventually, this will become open for everyone to use. Think of the ‘invitation only’ as a growth period, while the app developers work on a way to release this to the wider public.
Before Clubhouse can go live to everyone, the creators have shared a few things that must be worked on. These include in-depth community guidelines to keep the community safe from bullying and harassment, optional privacy and blocking features, and ways to ensure inclusion within the community through a private chatroom feature.
How Do I Get Started?
Once you have secured your invite, created an account, and selected topics of interest, the app will curate like-minded people into your network and allow you to either create a room or sit in on one. Once in a chatroom, you can virtually raise your hand, for the chat room creator to unmute you to speak to the discussion.
Clubhouse is an extremely private platform, as it does not record user conversations, and all chatrooms are wiped after use. This feature helps with privacy, as well as engaging users in the moment as you won’t have the option to ‘catch up’ later, like on Netflix.
The current user limit per chatroom is 5000, which can only be altered by Clubhouse. Clubhouse plans on providing a non-ad based monetization scheme, to allow users to pay creators through the app.
Who’s On It?
Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Drake, and of course Elon Musk and Bill Gates have all been seen on the app, with Haddish reaching 1 million followers before anyone else!
Why Should I Care?
Clubhouse is amazing for learning new insights into a range of topics, including gaining information on how to grow your business, or learning new industry facts.
Clubhouse is great for businesses and marketers to use to start the conversation around topics related to your industry. Imagine starting your own weekly Q&A to share your knowledge and learn from your listeners.
It’s a great way to connect with your customers or audience on a deeper, more personal and conversational level. Clubhouse allows you to have actual conversations with your audience, instead of only communicating via likes and shares.
Our prediction is that this platform will continue to grow and blossom into a place where influencers, businesses, industry experts and individuals can all have important judgement free conversations.
So what now? You can either join the official invitation waitlist, or find an invitation. With over 2 million users now, we recommend speaking to friends, colleagues and industry contacts – you never know who might have a spare invite you can snatch up!
Once you make it onto Clubhouse, don’t forget to follow our Directors, Yvette Adams (@yradams) and Kat Lees (@kat_lees)!