What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is the new social media cool kid on the block. It’s an invitation-only social media platform that originated out of silicon valley.  Early members included tech titans, Hollywood stars, and other cultural influencers. This gave it an exclusive feel and proves to be an irresistible draw for many that would like to take part. 

Clubhouse is an audio-only platform. No pictures and no videos. Think of it as a meeting place to listen to and take part in various conversations. An interactive podcast, if you will. Conversations are divided into what Clubhouse calls “Rooms”.  Rooms are created by members and are typically topical in nature. Members participating in a room may have different privileges. Some may only be able to listen, while others can speak and be heard by the entire room, and some act as moderators. Moderators can mute, unmute, add and remove members from the room.

Who is on Clubhouse?

Clubhouse conversations tend to be business and/or centered around personal-improvement. Rooms (conversations) can be scheduled in advance — but can also be started in more of an impromptu manner making them wide-ranging and meandering at times. 

Clubhouse just turned one on March 17th, 2021 and it is already valued at over a billion dollars. Even with the invitation-only approach, they have amassed millions of users and it is expected that they will start opening the platform to more and more people. It’s currently only available for iPhone users — but an Android version is supposedly in the works and will be available soon. 

 

The Future for Clubhouse

It’s hard to tell what the long-term will hold for Clubhouse as its success has caught the attention of some of the big players like Facebook and Twitter. Facebook is reportedly working on an audio version of its Messenger Room’s feature that will surely be a direct competitor to Clubhouse. Clubhouse will have to work hard to retain its exclusive allure and quality content that is key to growing and retaining an audience.  

There’s not currently a way to advertise on Clubhouse. You can’t buy ads like you typically do on other social media platforms. Members are free to tout their brands, customize their profiles and profile pictures to tell their stories. But as of yet, there isn’t a direct way to pay for a brand presence on Clubhouse.

Where Clubhouse really shines is with personal development.  It has potential to be a great way to make business contacts, share information, and test ideas and concepts with relevant people that you may not have ordinarily had an opportunity to meet.

It will be interesting to see how Clubhouse develops and if it can maintain the meteoric trajectory that it has followed over its first year.

 

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