It’s hard to act sort of a jerk on the drop-in audio app referred to as Clubhouse.
For one thing, everyone can tell. You can’t hide behind a keyboard (or an emoji), and therefore the tone in your voice is obvious since all you’ll do is speak.
If you start trolling someone, it’s easy for the space organizer to hit mute or kick you out of an audio chat altogether.
The drop-in audio app is like an interactive podcast or even an audio conference. People speak on a “stage” ahead of a gallery, and only those selected to hitch the audio panel can speak. Imagine a gaggle chat with audio-only, except that only a couple of individuals can speak, and you’ll get the thought.
The real benefit is that Clubhouse is usually a rewarding experience where you’ll connect with people in real-time and perhaps even learn a thing or two.
Now, the app is even easier to use for the masses.
After a particularly short trial period, Clubhouse is finally available for anyone to download within the Google Play store on an Android phone. It’s a functional beta version.
I tested it on a Google Pixel 4, and it works precisely the same because of the (formerly exclusive) iPhone version. But, of course, you continue to need an invitation (if you ping me on my Twitter feed, I can probably assist you out), which may be a genius-marketing ploy to form it seem exclusive, elusive, and elite.
Since I started testing the app months ago, I’ve been a serious fan, holding multiple book chats with authors and even an influencer roundtable. I’m also beginning to test the Hotline app (created by an indoor R&D team at Facebook, during a private beta). The Clubhouse has some serious competition, including Stage Channels within the Discord app, Twitter Spaces, and several others.
Why is that this a revolution? I even have a theory thereon.
First, social media has not aged well. The trolls are ruining the experience, arguing over subtle nuances. It’s not just boring and mundane. It’s predictable.
Second, we’re all beginning to wonder what proportion we would like handy over our personal information to Big Tech companies. A minimum of with drop-in audio apps, once you speak to colleagues or hold a personal group chat, you’re not linking to products or sharing your Internet browsing history with advertisers (as far as we know). Albeit that’s possible (e.g., maybe these apps are advanced enough to watch what we are saying in real-time and serve our ads), I haven’t seen the dark side yet. The Clubhouse looks like a grand experiment thus far. I do not see any advertising thus far.
What I prefer about social audio is that it’s new and novel. I’m hooked. I’ve now moved many of my interviews to Clubhouse, which may be fun thanks to encouraging participation. A book author fielded questions from the gang in one recent chat, and it became an enriching and interesting conversation. When does that happen on Twitter?
With the addition of Android, it means a wider assortment of users. It means the sheer number of individuals using the app will grow, which means better and more diverse conversations. Are you able to dive into drop-in audio?
