I am feeling like I used to when Game of Thrones was all the rage and I had zero idea what the hoopla was all about. I did ultimately watch the entire series – out of sheer FOMO – but was only mildly amazed. Now I'm hearing about Clubhouse everywhere and am wondering anew: what am I missing out on? Here’s what I understand about the clubhouse app so far:
This is a communication app where everyone speaks instead of typing. And listens instead of reading. And chat rooms can have thousands of participants. The app was first launched on iOS and then on Android with a beta launch this May.
I can see why something like this has caught on; it is perhaps a natural progression. However there have been reports of instances of racism, bullying and harassment on the app. Many countries have banned Clubhouse outright.
This is now a thing in social media – is it like memes? I don’t know. Will it be like all the many Zoom bloopers and other things that go wrong, during work meetings and classes? Again, don’t know.
I understand that there is something of a cachet to the sort of groups one belongs to. Does it imply that one was worthy enough to be invited?
When celebrities joined Clubhouse, this directly upped the visibility and popularity of the app. Users can follow celebs such as Oprah, Mark Zuckerberg, author Malcolm Gladwell, musicians, actors etc. on the app. Of course, there are fake IDs as well. Celebs often have to issue clarifications about fake users who are pretending to be them.
When does one get to talk if there are thousands of members in a group? Who listens? What if someone goes on and on? What if one shouts? So apparently you can ‘raise your hand’ and the persons leading the discussion may ask you to speak. This can be intimidating for some – speaking with so many people listening – maybe directly with a celeb.
It all sounds a little confusing to me – so apparently people can only invite some people and there are people wanting to get in. And its only voice – no video, no file or link sharing, no private messaging, no way to share an email address or a phone number. Also, why would I want to be part of a club that makes it so difficult for me to join? Like I said – it is all rather confusing to me.
Experts believe that pandemic boredom is a big reason Clubhouse has taken off in such a big way. People veer between wanting to be disciplined /productive and letting themselves just be; taking advantage of the strange situation to do nothing. So while one is doing nothing, why not ‘do’ clubhouse – maybe one can become pals with a celeb! Or maybe not.
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