Anyone who thinks the internet is a visual medium may need to reevaluate that belief.
The newest social media fad is an app called Clubhouse, which takes the idea of text- and image-based connections and throws it out the window. Users on the app communicate exclusively by voice, making social media feel almost like a good old-fashioned phone call.
The catch is that users have to be invited to the app by another user in order to join, giving the app an exclusive feeling, just like a real-life clubhouse.
Users can join “rooms” with strangers or people they follow and listen to the live conversation of the users who are “on stage,” or have permission to speak. They can listen in, enjoying a podcast-like experience, or raise their hand to ask to come on stage and join in.
Rooms are often created within “clubs,” or groups that revolve around a certain topic. Many clubs focus on a particular professional field, hobby or interest, but others play music, practice meditation and mindfulness, teach languages or simply give users a place to chill out at the end of the day. Only club members can create rooms within the clubs, and you have to be invited to become a member. Non-member users can still follow clubs and join club rooms, but they don’t get room-creation privileges.
It was a necessary part of the reporting for this piece to actually use Clubhouse, so I took to my own preferred social media platform, Twitter, and asked if anyone was able to invite me. While I almost immediately received a text from an old friend and fellow reporter inviting me to the app, I first got a message from an unknown Twitter account asking me if I wanted to purchase an invite, and this was my first hint at what the app would be like.
I’ll be honest: it’s not for me. One person I spoke to referred to it as “LinkedIn 2.0,” and I can’t necessarily disagree with that statement, as the vast majority of users that I saw seem to be there for networking, constantly hustling to find the next gig or project.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but it creates an even less authentic environment than traditional social media. On Facebook, everyone already knows who you are, but on Clubhouse, everyone is constantly crafting their image to expand their sphere of influence. Social media is supposed to be fun, not work.
John Bernabel, a Salem real estate agent who started the “Boston” club for people in the Greater Boston area, which currently has over 5,000 members, said that when he was first “nominated,” or invited, to Clubhouse, he didn’t understand the appeal. He began by just listening in to conversations, but soon the friend that nominated him told him to raise his hand and get involved.
“Once you get on stage, it breaks away from that podcast feel,” Bernabel said. “From there, I was kind of hooked on it.”
Since then, Bernabel has spent hours on the app, networking with other professionals and creating friends with people around the world.
Clubhouse launched in March 2020, but was in the news in February 2021 after a live talk by Tesla CEO Elon Musk went viral on Jan. 31, prompting a significant rise in users. It has seen more than 3 million downloads in the Apple app store (the app is not currently available on Android devices) and is valued at more than $1 billion. In comparison, Facebook has roughly 2.8 billion users.
The goal of the app, according to creators Rohan Seth and Paul Davison, is to create a deeper connection between users than other platforms by eliminating the focus on visuals and forcing people to use their voice instead of hiding behind text.
“Our goal was to build a social experience that felt more human — where instead of posting, you could gather with other people and talk,” the creators wrote in a January blog post. “Our north star was to create something where you could close the app at the end of the session feeling better than you did when you opened it, because you had deepened friendships, met new people and learned.”
The app absolutely has its upsides. My favorite use has been clubs that run 24/7 conversations in intermediate Spanish, where I can stretch my listening skills and occasionally raise my hand to practice a few sentences. There are also some interesting presentations from experts who I wouldn’t get to hear from otherwise, which are fun to listen to in place of my usual podcast.
While Clubhouse has grown in popularity, it has also attracted some controversy. China banned the app in February, and some users have criticized its moderator system for making it difficult to report hurtful speech.
The app is still in its beta stage and may open up to allowing users without invitations to join. For now, though, those interested will have to sign up for the waitlist or just hope they have a connection to someone in the know.
I’m not going to delete Clubhouse yet. I’m still getting used to it, and I don’t think it would be fair to waste my friend’s invitation when she could have easily sold it for some unreasonable amount of money. But before I give up on Twitter, it’s going to have to open up to a much wider audience, one that might not be quite as dead set on hyping themselves up into the void.