A review of Clubhouse (by someone who has never used it)
Full disclosure — I don’t have the Clubhouse app, because I don’t have any up to date iOS devices, so this is a slightly tongue in cheek review of it, based on listening to some content, lots of reading, talking to friends who have tried it, and general media history of how similar things have gone.
Background — Clubhouse is an audio app, launched in April 2020, and currently generating lots of buzz, and a $1bn valuation, but with (probably) less than 3m users.
How it works — Clubhouse is audio only. Once you have been invited to join by an existing member, you sign in, then see a range of rooms with active discussions, broken down by interests. You can then enter a room and listen to the discussion, or possibly speak, if you are invited onto ‘the stage’. The screen shows circles of the other people in the ‘room’, and so you can connect with them.
One really interesting element of Clubhouse is that it has different divisions of participants in a discussion — the owner of the room, people on stage, and able to speak, and people in the audience. Essentially it’s an audio forum, but with only some people allowed to post.
Content — Content is not recorded or archived. However I have been able to hear two high profile events, featuring Elon Musk, and Kevin Hart, because people did record them and later put the up either as podcasts or on YouTube.
As pieces of content, neither were great, to be honest. Elon Musk is a surprisingly uninteresting interviewee, and neither of the hosts were willing to push him or ask hard questions. Kevin Hart joined an existing discussion of one of his recent shows, and it’s just all a bit bit messy and unfocussed. Both could have done with editing, and an experienced interviewer. But, in a way this isn’t the point, in the same that you can’t really compare what you read in someone’s Facebook post to a newspaper in terms of writing and authority. It’s not about the content, it’s about the content and the context, like late night discussions you have with friends, or being in the bar at a conference.
Network — It’s really all about the network. You listen live, so you can see, and connect with other people who are interested in the same thing. You can potentially get involved in the discussion (be asked up from the audience onto the stage), and I can see how this can create an interesting dynamic. It would be great to be able to connect with people who listen to the same podcasts as me (a GoodReads for Podcasts?), and also be able to chip in. It does this because, unlike podcasts, it’s a live medium. If podcasts are Pirate Radio, this is CB Radio.
‘Live’ — Live works because it’s interactive and there is the sense of being in the moment. Be there, or you will miss out. At its best live comedy and music does this, as does theatre (without the interactive element, mostly) , but attempts to make live TV drama, for example individual episodes of EastEnders and ER, generally don’t. About 5 years ago many people (myself included) thought that ‘live’ would emerge as a huge video content category (e.g. the BuzzFeed video where people kept putting rubber bands around a watermelon until it exploded). Live video is huge (Zoom), but the interactive sort, not the ‘sense of moment’ sort.
‘Live’ can be a wonderful thing, and it’s something that has become really hard in the last year, and I suspect that this is partly why Clubhouse has found its moment.
However, there are also obvious problems with ‘live’. You need to think about scheduling, especially if it’s global, and put it on when people are able to take part. The danger is that no one cares, and you only get one bite of the cherry. Recorded content can build up a following; live content can, but it’s much harder.
The users — The way people are talking about Clubhouse reminds me of earlier adopters in all sorts of platforms. The evangelists say that it’s like nothing they have used before, and it doesn’t have the problems that other networks have. It’s small and friendly. I remember when Stephen Fry joined Twitter and he used to follow people back. This period never lasts for long.
The future — So what will Clubhouse become? It’s unlikely to have an completely unique trajectory, so I suspect that in a few months it could become a bit like:
Twitter — Popular and famous, but quite messy, quite hard to find the good stuff, and full of egos. However, I think I would like it if it becomes like one of the unofficial Twitter communities — Scottish Twitter, Black Twitter, Beer Twitter etc — all chatting away and generally respecting each other, bringing new voices and stories to prominence. But there is also one Twitter-like problem. For years Twitter suffered from people hearing about it, joining, Tweeting, then lapsing, because they found it too hard to work out and actually enjoy it.
Nextdoor — Another very strong community platform. I understand that there are already local communities using Clubhouse to chat, and I can see how this could become ‘a thing’, especially under lockdown.
WhatsApp — Again, a very strong community tool, and I can imagine having a regular Clubhouse room for groups of friends, or people who all live in the same neighbourhood, or have kids who all go to the same school. It needs strong leadership and someone committed to making it work; my most active local WhatsApp group is now mainly a ‘can you sign this petition’ group, unfortunately.
Reddit — Again, lots of potential here, and something like AMA would work brilliantly on Clubhouse. But, it needs people who will build up ‘boards’ in the same way that people have done on Reddit, and it needs this to happen very quickly.
LinkedIn — I think for many this is what Clubhouse actually is at the moment. I heard Gary Vee saying that if he had time he would be spending 10 hours a day on Clubhouse, building communities and connecting with people. I fear that Clubhouse could become the newest home for LinkedIn grifters, all trying to connect and ask if you are interested in their SEO and web design services.
Meet-up — Meet-up is surprisingly popular — surprising that is, unless you are an active user. It’s probably still the best way for people with interests to connect, and some group owners (for example people who organise walks) have managed to build businesses out of their followings. I can definitely see Clubhouse becoming like Meet-up, but this will mean that it will be away from the mainstream.
Conclusion — I am really looking forward to the Android version coming out. I do think that there are a lot of unique and interesting things about Clubhouse, and if they build an audience and a culture it will be successful.
However, I see lots of problems ahead as they go beyond the euphoric ‘it works’ stage that all start-ups see. Their mission is to turn it into Meet-up, WhatsApp, or Black Twitter, and stop certain sorts of users turning it into LinkedIn.
(To be updated once I’ve actually used it!)
