You've probably heard that there's a new app gaining ground among your friends and coworkers. Or, if you're a bit luckier, you may have received a random invite to explore the new thing without much information about what was going on.
Clubhouse is among us, and the truth is you'll possibly be hearing more about it in the coming days. And yes, we're talking about a new social network. The difference is that it's built around the idea of communicating only through voice.
So it's a podcast?
No. It's like Zoom meetings mixed with the language of podcasts, leaving room for anyone who wants to join in and take part in the conversations.
Are we going back in time and opening up chat rooms again?
More than that. We're learning from other experiences and living through other perspectives that the digital world has been sharing, all while still trying to stay connected to our interests without having to leave home.
On the app, you can find three types of rooms:
- Public: rooms any member can join
- Social: smaller rooms restricted to people the room's creator follows
- Private: an option where the user can control who joins or leaves.
All interactions happen live, through audio. For now, there's no way to communicate through photos or videos. It's also not possible to record the discussions.
One of the highlights is that Clubhouse features fleeting conversations that "disappear" as soon as the rooms are closed.
Another point worth mentioning is that the social network has simplified defenses against trolls, fakes and cancel-culture mobs, making conversations more genuine and healthy. Tallis Gomes, founder of Easy Taxi and Forbes Under 30, says he was one of the first users in Brazil to have his account created and shares his opinion on the matter:
"On Clubhouse, you can't hide behind a fake mask. If someone joins a room to contribute negative actions, whether a troll or a hater, people can kick and block that user. Besides, the fact that this is a fiduciary responsibility creates a network effect of trustworthiness, since the person who invited the hater gets banned too."
Now, to show just how interesting things can get, some users have already crossed paths with big names in some public rooms, such as Oprah Winfrey, Ashton Kutcher, Zara Larsson and even Mark Zuckerberg.
Just imagine running into someone you admire greatly in one of these rooms?
Pensando na linha do tempo, a plataforma foi lançada no ano passado, mas ganhou a atenção do mainstream tem poucos dias. Em janeiro deste ano, a Andreessen Horowitz, uma empresa americana de capital de risco, anunciou o investimento na Clubhouse, fundada por Paul Davison e Rohan Seth. E talvez tenha sido isso que atraiu a atenção de muitas pessoas no Silicon Valley.
Shortly after the investment announcement, Elon Musk, head of Tesla and the richest man in the world, joined a Clubhouse room and talked with some users, including Marc Andreessen, one of the founders of Andreessen Horowitz.
Musk talked about colonizing Mars, space travel, artificial intelligence and even the COVID-19 vaccines. The room then hit its limit, reaching 5,000 people.
There were even people who followed the discussion through a stream that popped up on YouTube.
Maybe it was even a kind of strategy….
Speaking of numbers, the social network keeps growing. Up until December 2020, it had around 600 thousand users, but after the 5th of this month, it jumped to more than 6 million users, according to information from Backlinko (a consultancy specialized in SEO strategies and training).
So, if you use iOS, you can already go after your invites and discover an environment for new conversations.
If you have Android, it won't be long now! The startup's developers have already stated that they'll start working on the Android version soon.
So, do you already have a topic in mind to open your room on Clubhouse?
