These last months have certainly been very intense for the development of social networking platforms, this also “thanks” to a pandemic that has forced many people to find a new way to communicate with relatives, friends and strangers, whether it was for work or for simple entertainment. There was the undoubted explosion of TikTok, the rise and fall of Parler and now a very special social network: Clubhouse. Unlike all other platforms, there is no text, photos or videos in this social network: only audio.
What is Clubhouse?
Many have described Clubhouse as the social network of voice notes or audio. This is not the case, because when we talk about voice notes we think of a message recorded and sent asynchronously, while Clubhouse is a completely live platform. In fact, inside the platform, there are various types of rooms (we will explain better later) and inside there will be people talking. Live. In essence, therefore, it will be a bit like being all in a physical room and chatting by topic, or by affinity. What you can do will be to be listeners to this discussion, but also to be part of it by speaking with your own voice. Always live.
How does it differ from a radio or a podcast?
Clubhouse is extremely similar to a radio concept, with the difference that there are no frequencies or 24-hour broadcasts. Rooms are places where you enter and talk as long as the room itself exists. In addition, at the moment there are no companies inside and therefore all the discussions started are created by more or less popular people who want to entertain a speech. Compared to a podcast the substantial difference is in being live and that what is said is not recorded anywhere. We do not deny that after trying it we think that Clubhouse in the future could become a great platform for recording podcasts if the developers want to allow it.
Why did Clubhouse become famous?
Mainly because Clubhouse is very different from any social network that has ever existed and in this time when many people have greatly reduced their social life a voice platform finds fertile ground. Technologically it is not too dissimilar to Discord which, however, was born with other purposes and has a different audience. In addition, in Clubhouse you follow single people, just like in a social network and this helps to create a social relationship. If you then add that it is also used by personalities like Drake, Oprah Winfrey and Jared Leto, you will understand even better the success of this platform.
How do I download Clubhouse?
Clubhouse can be downloaded for free from the iOS App Store on your iPhone. There is no web counterpart and like many platforms of this type it, therefore, works only as a smartphone application.
And Clubhouse for Android?
In a January 2021 statement, the team said they are looking forward to working on the Android version and adding new languages (currently only in English). There are no possible release dates and considering that it is understood that development for Android has not even started it is possible that it will take months. Unfortunately, it is not an uncommon way to develop apps of this type first for iOS, just think of Instagram and Snapchat that have followed the same course.
How do I sign up for Clubhouse?
Clubhouse is currently based on an invitation system that provides that each user can invite two people (via phone number) to the social network. These days, the popularity has grown rapidly in our country, as the first invitations have also arrived from us and this has rapidly spread the spread. But there is another way. If someone in your address book installs the application and books their nickname, their already registered contacts will be notified of this in Clubhouse and will be able to let them in. In their profile the name of those who “accepted” them will remain imprinted, guaranteeing in practice for them.
How does Clubhouse work?
Clubhouse as we said works on the basis of the rooms, which can be Open, that is open to anyone, Social, only for those who follow you and Closed, that is only for the people you invite. Inside the room, you can assign moderators who will be the people who can choose who to give the floor to. You can turn off your microphone and if you want to speak there will be a button to raise your hand. If we are given the floor from then on, unless interrupted by a moderator, we can speak whenever we want. When creating a room, you can add a short topic text to make it clear what the room is about.
What do we think of Clubhouse?
Let’s start by saying that Clubhouse has a terrible icon, which is not even an icon, but only a photo of a person who is also a member of Clubhouse (and famous for being the icon of the app). It may seem like an insignificant consideration but it already explains the meaning of this app by itself. At least for now. This is a social network for a few, which can only be installed on iOS and by invitation only. Currently, Clubhouse subscribers are almost only journalists, entrepreneurs, influencers or marketing people. This means that there are many important and authoritative opinions, but that there is still a wider and more varied base of the public to understand what direction it could take. Plus in many rooms, we stumbled upon often the argument deviated from the original to the Clubhouse itself. For everyone, it is a novelty and at the moment the topic often becomes very self-referential “what can we do with Clubhouse?”. Among all the interesting prospects is that Clubhouse could become a viable alternative to radio, rather than an alternative to podcasts or other “classic” social networks.