What is Clubhouse & why everyone's talking about it?

The jarring chatter of strangers pondering over random issues and trends on the audio-only social app, Clubhouse,  seems to have caught a sudden fancy amongst people. Developed by Alpha Exploration Co., the free-of-cost app was rolled out in March last year and boasts of 2 million installations today, as per analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Amidst hundreds of new social media applications emerging everyday, Clubhouse has held the ground rather firmly until now. A lot of it could be credited to the overwhelming support it received from the Silicon valley giants and other influential communities like Black creators, Gen Z stalwarts and bitcoin peddlers who participated to make it the latest buzz in town.

From Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Chris Rock, Drake and comedian Tiffany Haddish – all of them have appeared for conversations on the app which helped generate a fan frenzy and curiosity amongst people. Capital firm Andreessen Horowitz valued the company at $100 million when it was just a few months old, Forbes reported.

In India, the app recorded over 8,000 downloads last month and witnessed a total of 12,000 downloads, Sensor Tower said.

What is Clubhouse & how to use it?

Clubhouse is a voice-based social networking application where people discuss on various issues/topics of human interest in virtual “rooms”. Broadly, it falls in the podcast category where people indulge in candid conversations with silent listeners. One can identify the active speaker in these “rooms” from a grey halo circling the participant’s photo. The notable feature of this app is its ‘by invite-only’ feature which suggests – anyone can use the app only after receiving the invite from an existing user.

Once invited, users can follow clubs and people whom they’d like to listen. The calendar icon within the app gives you a quick brief into a list of “rooms” happening at the time. The app has ‘social’ rooms which allows people you follow to join in while ‘closed’ rooms are for invited guests only.

As of now, Clubhouse is restricted to iOS app and it cannot be accessed via web.

How to get Clubhouse invite?

Currently, there is no other way but for an existing user to send you an invite to join Clubhouse. The invite comes in the form of a link via SMS that lets you onboard. It is important to note here that even the existing users get just get to send two invites initially and cannot send it to as many people as they want.

The app founders have, however, hinted on the possibility of Clubhouse opening to the ‘whole world’ soon.

Money9 spoke to Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group, at CyberMedia Research on the sudden surge in popularity of Clubhouse.

What is the reason behind the sudden buzz around this audio-social app?

The rise of audio-only social networks, such as Clubhouse, can be traced to the rising social media fatigue and, more importantly, prolonged period of pandemic induced-social isolation. For users longing for social connections and live conversations, Clubhouse app has provided the right dynamic and platform to engage in real-time, ephemeral audio conversations. The sense of serendipity and spontaneity on such platforms is something that traditional social networking incumbents have failed to provide. Unlike others, Clubhouse breaks down the walled gardens and democratizes social access. For instance, one can drop-in, talk and listen-in on conversations with celebrities in a room.

The invite-only feature of the app makes it a tricky one. How do you see it?

The invite-only feature has been key in fueling Clubhouse app growth, through a series of viral loops – users telling non-users about the app, and spreading the word. Virality around Clubhouse has been driven by a perfectly-timed product that offers great experience. If it were out of beta, and available to all, it would not have grown as much.

Do you see potential in the app to become a sustainable choice amongst Indian consumers?

Yes, the Clubhouse app has the potential to tick with the tech savvy, Apple iPhone-owning user demographic in India.