Clubhouse | What Is Clubhouse And Should I be Using It?
There’s a new social media platform buzzing around the Internet right now called Clubhouse. And don’t worry, you won’t be catching any Gen Z-ers dancing around empty parking lots with this one. In fact, this new platform is reinventing the wheel for businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers with a unique way to network, learn, and grow, virtually.
AS THE NAME IMPLIES, CLUBHOUSE IS RATHER TRICKY TO GET INTO.
Right now it’s invite only (or if you’re famous it’s a little easier). Once you’ve copped an invite, though, you’ve unlocked access to a social realm that’s buzzing with conversations on pretty much every topic the world has to offer. It’s all voice based too, so you can just jump into a “room,” and listen to business owners, gurus, even Oprah, conversing about everything from astrology to bitcoin in a panel-like discussion. Oh, and you can add your own messages with the chat feature, which makes your odds of talking with someone powerful all the more likely. While it might seem intimidating at first as you jump into an endless stream of opinions, it’s very easy to get sucked into the rabbit hole of tips, tidbits, fandom, and unspilled tea that these rooms bring about.
Like a real-life social event, you can float around from conversation to conversation, tuning in when it’s interesting, and politely drifting to another discussion when you lose interest—to “grab another cocktail” (or your takeout) so to speak. Oh, and when the conversation ends, it’s gone forever. Just like a face-to-face interaction. Clubhouse is sweeping across the world with a more sophisticated approach to social media—giving people a chance to network, expand their knowledge, and create new connections in an approachable, humanized way. This spin on human interaction, something that we all crave in 2021, is giving Clubhouse rapid popularity.
Paul Davidson, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and Rohan Seth, an ex-Google employee, launched the app in April, receiving investor funding ($12 million, to be exact) along the way. Today it’s estimated at an impressive $100 million—not bad for a business that hasn’t even launched its website yet!
Like anything else, Clubhouse is not without its cons, including negative conversations and controversial opinions being voiced in chat rooms. However, the app creators are proceeding cautiously, releasing a statement asking users to keep conversations positive as the brand continues to grow and progress. These growing pains are surely to be ironed out, as the app is still in beta-mode and acclimating to its new 600,000 users with numbers rising by the minute.
ON THE UP SIDE, CLUBHOUSE IS GIVING VOICES TO THOSE UNHEARD.
Because recording conversations is prohibited, celebrities and powerful figures are allowed to air on the transparent side, making the conversations all the more raw and real. These chat rooms are full of debates, devil's advocates, and bold new ideas, which can fuel our “known truths,” as they currently exist, into a new dimension of knowledge and depth.
Our take? Clubhouse is barely on the cusp of its vast potential that lies ahead. This little app will become public soon, and when it does, it has the potential to redefine the way we think of social media platforms.
Written by: Rachel Laiosa
