What is the Clubhouse app and why is it suddenly everywhere?
Part radio talkback, part teleconference, part Houseparty, Clubhouse is a social networking application based on audio chat. Users can listen to conversations, interviews and discussions between interesting people on various topics – it’s like tuning in to a podcast, but live and with an additional layer of exclusivity.
Clubhouse is for guests only. You can’t just download it from the app store and create an account. Much like a real-life country or yacht club, you must be invited by an existing member. Real world elitism, but make it virtual.
Upon entering, you select topics of interest, such as technology, books, business or health. The more information you provide the app about your interests, the more chat rooms and individuals the app will recommend you to follow or participate in.
The chat room is like a conference call, but with some people talking on the call and most listening. And, just like a phone call, when the conversation ends, the room is closed. Unlike Twitch – where videos broadcast live are on the platform for people to come back and watch – live audio chats have disappeared in chat rooms. (However, this does not prevent users from recording the conversation live. A YouTube user, for example, streaming live from a chat room launched by Elon Musk).
How do I get a Clubhouse invitation?
To join, an existing Clubhouse user must send an invitation from your application, giving you access to set up an account. If you are invited, you will see a link sent by text message to your phone number, directing you to an application page in the application.
However, Clubhouse users cannot simply send an invitation to anyone who wants to join. Existing users have only two invitations available at the beginning.
In a recent blog post, the creators announced that their goal for 2021 is to complete the beta stage of the app, so that they can eventually “open the Clubhouse to the entire world”.
What does Elon Musk have to do with this?
The Clubhouse has existed since March 2020, when it was launched by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. In May 2020, it had just 1,500 users and was worth $ 100 million.
But this week broke into the mainstream when Elon Musk performed an audio chat at the Clubhouse with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. The event crossed the boundaries of the app’s chat room and was broadcast live to YouTube. This helped propel the Clubhouse to the top of the startup charts and spawned a race for invitations. As of February 1, 2021, the Clubhouse had 2 million users. Clubhouse announced new features, such as tips, tickets or subscriptions, to pay directly to creators on the app. Having raised new funds since its launch, the Clubhouse is now valued at $ 1 billion and is considered a Unicorn startup like AirBnb, Uber and SpaceX.
Reuters reports that demand for members is now so high that a market for them has grown on platforms like Reddit, eBay and Craigslist. In China, invitations are being sold on Alibaba’s used fish market, Idle Fish.
Musk summed up the Clubhouse’s appeal during his chat with Tenev, noting that “changing context is the killer of the mind”. The idea is that when users are logged into the Clubhouse, with notifications disabled, they can focus on one topic at a time.
Why was it so popular in China?
The value of the application goes beyond its exclusivity.
While censorship, repression and government control prevail in China, Clubhouse managed to overlook China’s firewall radar for several months, unlike other social media networks Instagram and Facebook. It has become very popular in recent weeks, attracting a large number of Chinese users and giving them a rare chance to “Spree-free expression”and engage in discussions on topics that are generally blocked on the continent, including Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Quartz reported that “Chinese users, largely investors and technology professionals, are using the space to talk about topics that would otherwise be censored at home, such as democracy.”
E-commerce sites in China were offering hopeful Clubhouse users the chance to buy invitations. On platforms like Xianyu and Taobao, invitation codes were sold for 150 to 400 yuan ($ 23 to $ 61).
Since Monday, February 8, 2021, however, the Clubhouse has been blocked in China.