Clubhouse is the brainchild of Paul Davison and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co. It is an invitation-only audio chat platform exclusive for iphone users that is taking Japan by storm with nearly 440,000 new installs in early February.
Big media personalities are also on the platform and are being followed by their fans giving a more intimate interaction with these celebrities. A good example of this is the first-ever appearance of Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, who breaks the record of exceeding the 5,000-room limit. According to some popular Clubhouse users, one thing they like about Clubhouse is its spontaneity, thus unfiltered conversations even with taboo topics in the society. Also, since it’s an audio-only chat, you don’t have to worry about how you look on camera. You can just lie down on the couch in your pajamas listening to speakers exchange their views about a particular topic.
It is but timely that during this pandemic, people are left at home feeling so much solitude and Clubhouse was able to address that feeling of loneliness since in the platform you are free to talk and listen to others. Unlike on Facebook, the people inside the room are most likely not a part of your current network. So, followers of a particular room feel more relaxed speaking out their thoughts without feeling so conscious since the group is filled with a bunch of strangers sharing the same interest.
I joined Clubhouse last week of February through an invite and joined rooms that I’m interested in. It’s indeed a good deal because you can surely learn a lot and even ask experts about your current dilemma. For example, I joined a room discussing social media marketing and of course hosted by social media strategists and experts. You can actually pitch your business freely when you are given the chance to talk by raising your virtual hand in the group and even ask experts for some advice on something that you are currently struggling with for free!
How to Join
Since Clubhouse is an invite-only social media, you need to ask a Clubhouse member to send you an invite before you can join the bandwagon.
How does it work?
Clubhouse is like joining a house party with a bunch of rooms gathering to have small talks. You can enter or leave a room quietly without being in the spotlight. If you would like to share your thoughts on the current topic being discussed, you can raise your hand virtually and the room moderator will let you be on stage and you will then be given a chance to speak.
For Japanese, there are numerous bilingual rooms that are setup in both Japanese and English and are also hosted by bilinguals. This is also an effective way to boost your English speaking skills and confidence since you can make this platform a good venue to practice speaking and listening to other native English speakers for free. Isn’t that great!
Current Issues faced by Clubhouse
Clubhouse has announced that they have zero tolerance to hate speech thus banning people who are practicing hate speech on the platform through the help of its members. Though there are certain issues with trust and safety on the platform, the creators of Clubhouse are trying their best to cater to these problems, especially that their team is still small and the number of members of their platform is becoming overwhelming week after week.
Have you tried Clubhouse or do you need an invite? Share to us your experiences in the comments.
