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Thanks to high-profile usage from famous users—like Drake, Lindsay Lohan, and Elon Musk—the Clubhouse app is having a bit of a “moment.”

The most entertaining outcome is the most likely

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2021

Still technically in invite-only “beta” mode, Clubhouse was launched last year as a voice-focused social platform. Users create rooms based on topics, where a certain number of people can speak while others listen. The room sizes can be small and intimate or in the thousands. Audience members can also be invited into the conversations.

Currently, the app is mobile-only. This has led to an interesting phenomenon: people “actually talking into” their phones.

The Big Question: Will it take off?

Lately, Clubhouse is certainly very buzzy.

That buzz has also brought criticism and concerns. As a small company dealing with sudden increases in numbers, there are potential privacy issues coming to light. For example, Clubhouse seems to have access to your phone’s contacts even if you try to block that access. There have also been community issues around trolls, harassment, sexism, and more.

Another interesting effect of the app’s sudden fame: Clubhouse briefly allowed users in China to get around existing roadblocks to be able to debate political issues candidly online (before the app was blocked last week, that is).

Meanwhile, competition is heating up. The established social platforms are quickly rolling out their own versions of the Clubhouse model:

• Twitter Spaces – audio-only rooms feature currently being live tested (check out our write-up from last month)

• Facebook [tbd] – As reported by the NY Times, Facebook is pulling a Facebook by simply “cloning” the idea for themselves. The features’s name hasn’t been finalized yet.

• Instagram multi-user live streams – As a visually-focused app, live streams are likely the closest Insta will get to a Clubhouse experience any time soon. The company is reportedly launching multi-participant IG live video chats very soon.

That said, the Clubhouse team has a lot of money to work with, as well as big plans to build on their current popularity such as tipping, tickets, and subscription options to help creators monetize their work.

Why it matters

People are craving connection during pandemic times and Clubhouse presents a new way to socialize without contibuting to Zoom fatigue. While it may be a fad, the fact that Twitter and Facebook have been working quickly to build their own voice-only interaction features is a strong indicator that this form of online social media could be here to stay.

Whether it’s Clubhouse or something else, it’s worth keeping your eyes (and ears) open for opportunities in this exciting new voice-focused social media space.

Want to try Clubhouse out for yourself? Download the app from Apple’s App Store. If can’t get an invite to sign up, you can also add your info to the waitlist.

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Here are a few more shareworthy items we’ve been reading this month…

Channel Updates & News:

• Meet Instagram’s Professional Dashboard for creators and SMBs (IG blog)

• Instagram says its algorithm won’t promote Reels that have a TikTok watermark (The Verge)

• Facebook is building a Clubhouse clone (NY Times)

• TikTok Adds New Recipe Integration (Social Media Today)

• LinkedIn launches on-demand courses for advertisers (Search Engine Land)

• YouTube is testing the ability to buy items from videos (Android Police)

• New 'Recently Deleted’ feature in Instagram (IG blog)

• New Pinterest “Interests” widget for iPhone home screen (Pinterest news)

• Twitter branding update: “imperfect by design (Twitter blog)

• Twitter introduces Birdwatch, a community-based approach to misinformation (Twitter blog)

• Facebook reducing political content in News Feeds test (Social Media Today)

• New pages for hashtags on YouTube (YouTube help)

Stories & Analysis

• Clubhouse, a tiny audio chat app, breaks through (NY Times)

• The end of escapist Instagram (glossy.co)

• How does News Feed predict what you want to see? (FB news)

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