Clubhouse Drop-in Audio Chat: the new audio-based social network that enables you to talk live with anyone, friends and celebrities alike. But how does it work and what opportunities does it offer?
A brand-new social network has caught the attention of many people around the world, making its way onto smartphone screens of millions of users. It’s called Clubhouse and it is the first social network based exclusively on audio contents.
Since celebrities such as Marco Montemagno and a number of prominent influencers on the Italian scene joined the platform, Clubhouse downloads in Italy have recently begun to boost, while in the U.S. the app has been available already for about a year and has 2 million active users.
As mentioned, Clubhouse is an atypical social network: no images, no videos, no texts; communication happens uniquely through audio format.
This new social network is occupying a gap in the auditory domain that was left empty by the most widespread social networks. This novelty has shaken the management of some social giants, not willing to be left behind. In fact, Twitter has already taken action, announcing the acquisition of a social podcasting app, Breaker, to exploit its technology and talents in developing an audio chat room function, called Twitter Spaces. And apparently Facebook has started to work on a proprietary audio chat product, too.
But what is exactly Clubhouse Drop-in Audio Chat?
As its pay-off states, Clubhouse is based on the possibility of engaging in a conversation using audio only (therefore an audio chat). The basic concept is actually very simple and apparently not particularly innovative: Clubhouse might seem nothing more than a new form of radio. The platform provides anytime short or long entertaining live conversations about any sort of topic, just like a radio.
Yes, that’s the concept, but there is so much more.
The app includes the typical features of social networks and web 3.0 era: participatory web, sharing, interactivity, semantic search, and Artificial Intelligence. All these elements make Clubhouse much more than a simple digital radio. Each user is enabled not only to listen to ongoing conversations by people they follow (friends, influencers, celebrities or experts in certain fields and disciplines), but also has the chance of participating in these dialogues, interacting with the moderator and, when given the floor, express their opinion. Conversely, each user can also open their own room and create an audio chat on their topic of choice.
So how does this social network work?
First of all, we should make clear that Clubhouse is designed to simplify the use and production of content, releasing audio formats only. In fact, all you need to join this social network, beyond a phone number and an invitation, is a profile picture, a username and a bio. Of these three, only the username is actually necessary, while the other two are optional.
The profile picture and bio, however, can be useful when searching for topics and people of interest, which is why these features have been included, too. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, the platform is able to suggest whom to follow, based on the user’s interests (as we’ll see further on). Therefore, with a glance at the bio of an unknown user, we can figure out if we could be interested in following them and receive updates on audio events they create or participate in.
But back to how Clubhouse works. After receiving an invitation to access, and entering personal data, the platform will ask the user to select all categories of interest. It is possible to choose from a wide range of topics, from hobbies and leisure to business, news, science, and so on. Subsequently, a few dozen profiles to follow are suggested, based on these interests.
Once this step is complete, you can start to explore all live conversations taking place, as well as decide to start your own. These audio chats can be public (open to everyone), private (accessible by invitation only) or social (open to followers). The conversations take place in so-called ‘rooms’, opened by one or more people, and where you can either just listen or participate actively by raising your hand and intervening.
This way, any form of social – or even spatial – barrier between users from all over the world is broken. Every user has the chance to talk with his neighbour or with Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and Space X) alike, wherever they are in the world: all they need is a working internet connection.
So why use Clubhouse?
The power of this new social network lies not only in its capacity to cross borders and reduce social differences: its strength lies above all in its use of audio and its extremely engaging way to produce valuable and enjoyable contents. Audio contents allow both the listener and the speaker to carry out other activities at the same time, thus optimising time, and making a dull moment or a tiring task more pleasant. Whether you’re washing the dishes, waiting for a late train, getting ready for work or preparing yet another power point presentation, you can entertain yourself, ask for advice, have your say or learn something new, simply by entering one of the Clubhouse rooms.
Business, growth and networking opportunities
Focusing on the use and production of audio content through a platform that is accessible to everyone really opens up business and networking to endless possibilities. Here anyone can grow professionally and personally alike. That’s right, since on Clubhouse you can find workers from your professional domain and experts, who are willing to discuss, advise, and share knowledge on specialised topics.
Therefore, a freelancer, a digital nomad, a small business, a new graduate, a newly hired employee or job seeker can listen and learn useful information for their personal growth. They can interact by asking questions; they can open their room and tell their story and experience, exponentially increasing opportunities to create their own community, to network, to improve brand awareness and personal branding.
A great opportunity, isn’t it? We also think so, but although Clubhouse’s popularity is rising, we think that the platform still has room for improvement (e.g. invitation limits, GDPR compliance, availability for Android), to make the most of the positive implications of a network based on audio interaction between people of all ethnicities, nationalities and social backgrounds. We’ll see, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, if you’d like to give us your opinion or tell us about your experience with Clubhouse or anything else, you are welcome to join our Facebook group, BeetCommunity | Connected professionals.
Here you’ll find specialists from all fields and many useful contents for your improvement and professional growth. We look forward to see you there!
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