“Do you have a Clubhouse invitation?” These days, there are two types of people, those who ask that question and those who receive it. But what’s behind all the success?
You’ve probably heard about this new social network that’s climbing the hype scale at lightning speed. The query “How do I get a Clubhouse invite?” has become very trendy in a short time. The reason is that you need an invitation to access the social network, which gives it an exceptional aura and virality. The buzz is reminiscent of the early days of Facebook or Twitter.
But what defines Clubhouse, this much-desired social network, created in March 2020, in the midst of a pandemic?
First of all, it’s not a radio station, it’s not a way to listen to podcasts, it’s not an audio conferencing application … but it’s all of that and more.
Clubhouse app is by invitation only, and that’s enough of an incentive. Like an elite club, but virtual. Is it a fashion effect that surfs on its virality, or is it a promising social network for entrepreneurs in particular, promised to last?
While Clubhouse is now available on Android, the numbers are changing very quickly with each passing week and raise questions about the application’s sustainability. In March 2021, the platform was gathering nearly 2 million users per week and had already raised over $100 million in funding, officially positioning itself as the new unicorn of Silicon Valley. At the same time, since then, the app has seen a sharp drop in downloads, while leading social networks such as Facebook or Twitter are launching their offensive to absorb Clubhouse’s innovative reach.
The initial Clubhouse strategy
Clubhouse has become part of the daily life of thousands of digital entrepreneurs in the last few months. Over the days, the curiosity for this new entrepreneurial social network has spread to all social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram etc…
The famous FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) won over all the curious and trendy entrepreneurs: and that was the winning strategy of Clubhouse.
At the beginning, they only invited VIPs, turning the application into an extremely elitist circle and immediately attracting media attention. Among these VIPs made in the USA, we can mention Mark Zuckerberg, Jared Leto, Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, Drake… Participating in a conversation with these “stars”, isn’t it the most effective advertising “bomb” that can exist?
It’s almost like meeting friends
Launching in the middle of a pandemic: brilliant or bad idea? In the case of the Clubhouse, a brilliant idea, no doubt.
If there’s one thing the coronavirus has taught us, it’s that we need human contact. And while Instagram stories and TikTok videos have kept us company, at some point we need something more. To chat with friends via voice messages, for example.
Clubhouse users can attest to this. The social network allows you to meet new people, make friends, network, find collaborators, in a virtual room and around common interests. Isn’t this idea perfectly suited to the pandemic context? Proof of this success: who could believe that an invitation to join a social network and use a free application would sell on Ebay?
How does Clubhouse work?
That’s all well and good, but how does it actually work? Let’s start by saying that the application is in English only (but come on, it’s not even a year old, let’s give it some time). It is also mandatory to have an IPhone, which adds to the “elite” effect.
Nevertheless, the use is extremely simple and intuitive.
Access by invitation
The first characteristic of the application: you need an invitation to access its features. We don’t know yet if this limitation is temporary. For now, the Clubhouse world is only yours once you’re invited.
As soon as you register (with your phone number), the application will ask you to complete your profile. Here you have two choices: enter the data manually or import the information from Twitter.
The next step is to find people to follow. Clubhouse will suggest you follow people you already know and have in your address book. You can choose to accept everyone or manually select the people you want to follow.
Immediately afterwards, you can choose your interests, and after you’ve selected them, Clubhouse will suggest that you follow particularly active users who share those common interests.
Moderators, speakers or listeners
In Clubhouse rooms, there are distinct roles: moderators, speakers and listeners.
Moderators open rooms and manage conversations, choose who to speak to, invite people into the room and can also exclude those who do not follow the rules of conversation. Their profile pictures have a small green asterisk.
Speakers are the users invited to join the conversation, whose profile pictures are located in the upper part of the room, next to the moderators.
Listeners are all users who participate in the room without intervening. However, they can always ask to speak by clicking on the icon with the hand, which corresponds to raising the hand to speak. They can also invite one of their contacts to join the room they are in or to leave the room “silently”.
How do the Rooms work?
The Rooms are the main feature of the Clubhouse. You can think of them as themed rooms, where a variety of topics are discussed. Each room can accommodate a maximum of 5,000 people.
There are three types of rooms:
Open: Rooms that are indexed in the main Clubhouse stream and that anyone can access.
Social: Rooms that can only be accessed if one of your followers or contacts is already inside.
Closed: Rooms that are only open to you by invitation.
As a user, it is very easy to create and moderate a room. You choose a theme, you can plan the opening of the Room on a specific date, like an event, and invite people of your choice. It’s up to you if you want to open your room to everyone, or keep it private.