Clubhouse is an exclusive app meant for using your voice to instead of your face. The user is able to create sound bites to post into chat rooms. These soundbites could be informative, inspirational, or humorous; the main point is to chat with others. Users can enter different chat rooms (think back to the AOL days) and can discuss different topics by posting them to said rooms. This new style of social media has grabbed the attention of some very big names like Elon Musk, Drake, and even Rhianna. As of now, the app has over 8 million downloads and is valued at over 1 Billion dollars. While the number of downloads is impressive, not all of those people have access to the app. Clubhouse is invite-only at the moment, which builds the hype of this app.

Born in the chaos of the pandemic, the Clubhouse founders Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth developed a platform that allowed a closer peri-social connection than its predecessors. The founder’s main goal was to have a better way to network in a time were social connection was strained. This productivity mindset that started this app can be seen in most of the topics talked about, such as Bitcoin and investment pitching. Considering they started in Silicon Valley, it is no surprise that their number one feature has to do with productivity.

Like any new empire, it has its blind spots. One feature that has not been set up yet is User Safety.  As of now, they do not have any protocols in place to handle misconduct, harassment, or hate-speech. Since the app is founded on the idea of speaking and sharing information, the lack of regulation regarding what is said in these chat rooms can be concerning. While these regulations have not arrived with the initial launch, it can be assumed that this will come later when the platform is open to the public.

While it might be fun, this app is meant for networking at its core. This can be very useful for adverting and business. Clubhouse’s being audio-based interface will allow for a resurgence of radio-espue advertising, similarly to a podcast ad. This will give business and ad-agencys another outlet to promote on. Clubhouse is on its way to becoming one of the most successful apps on the market and will give not only business, but the “average joe” another way to become closer to people via the internet.