The Audio-Only Social App Everyone’s Talking About
It may sound like a music genre from the early ‘90s, but Clubhouse is very 2021. Paul Davison and Rohan Seth launched this app in the US in March 2020. It’s safe to say that it has made waves around the world ever since. Clubhouse managed to attract huge celebrity names, from Mark Zuckerberg to Drake, Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey – some of whom have hosted chats on the platform. It’s been valued at around £4 bn as of April 2021.
Short History Of Clubhouse
In a nutshell, Clubhouse is an audio-only social app. So there’s what may seem initially like a startling lack of text, videos and images. (You’ll only see users’ profile photos.) Essentially, it’s a bit like earwigging on other people’s conversations – only legally. Unlike on other social platforms, nothing is recorded or saved, and the chats never leave the app. Everything takes place live and in real time so you need to catch everything as it happens. (Although there is nothing to stop someone from recording the content in real time.) That will change, with a new Replay feature, which will give a room’s creator the option to record and save the conversation, so anyone will be able to download it. Hop in and out of various chats on myriad different subjects – or start one yourself. You can network, and spend time talking about your own projects, develop ideas and strengthen relationships while ‘meeting’ new people. Previously invitation-only, intensifying its much-hyped ‘exclusivity’, Clubhouse expanded in July 2021 so
now anyone can join. You can participate via iPhone or Android – although it was launched as iOS-only. You can use it on an Android tablet or iPad, but it’s not fully optimised for the iPadOS. It has swerved some of the restrictions some governments have slapped on other social media beasts. At the time of writing China has banned the app all together.
How Does Clubhouse Work
Typically, only a certain number of participants are allowed to talk – but everyone else can listen. If you wish to make a point, raise your hand. The current limit is 5,000 people per room. Clubhouse has the intimacy of speech radio or a podcast – a ‘clubhouse’ conversation! Others have described it as a blend of LinkedIn, panel discussion, conference and cocktail party. And while many
simply natter to friends, perhaps in a locked or private room, you may just catch someone like Elon Musk talking away as though you were with them. New features are released regularly to sustain interest. For example, audio-only Ted Talks were
debuted in the summer 2021. You can link your Twitter account to the app if you don’t fancy setting up a profile from scratch.
What Can Go Wrong?
As with all the social media giants, concerns have been raised over privacy and the way content is moderated. At the same time, some have questioned Clubhouse’s access to participants’ phone information. Remember – you are the product here! Finally, if you decide Clubhouse isn’t for you, there’s no delete button. You need to ask Clubhouse directly to delete your data.
Clubhouse Potential
Clubhouse offers a potentially exciting fresh way to reach new audiences with audio content. You may decide to include Clubhouse in your audio branding strategy. And if you do – get in touch today and talk to us about how to align it with your existing audio properties and most importantly how to make sure you sound great from day one! As a clubhouse user you can use voiceovers, jingles and royalty free music to add more of a wow factor to the experience.
