Recently, the term clubhouse has become increasingly popular in the social media community . This app has not just one, but two special features: On the one hand, there is exclusivity - you can only use the app with an invitation and an iPhone. On the other hand, Clubhouse completely dispenses with text - pure audio is the principle here. This naturally raises questions that we will answer below.
What is clubhouse?
After Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, clubhouse is the new trend on the social media horizon. The app developed by Alpha Exploration is not about selfies, video stories or news, but only about audio. The concept, in short: Clubhouse is an audio-based social network! Groups of people meet in so-called rooms and can discuss certain topics. Here you can either actively participate or act as a silent listener in podcast fashion..
The rooms can be open or closed and, similar to other social networks, there are rooms on a number of topics. Each user can either join public spaces or open their own space. To control the rooms, different user roles were introduced:
- Moderators : A moderator user basically leads the discussion. It determines which user is allowed to become a speaker, that is, who can "take the stage". On the other hand, moderators can degrade users again and turn them into simple listeners.
- Speaker : As a speaker, you can actively participate in the discussion.
- Listener : As a listener, you are in the passive role. You just listen to the discussion without commenting on it. If you still want to say something, you can signal to the moderator that you want to contribute.
Without an invitation there is currently no way to get access to Clubhouse. However, you can reserve your user name in advance. To underline the exclusivity, your profile shows who has invited you. Incidentally, particularly active users will be given further invitations. Would you like to increase your social media reach even more? Then you can also link your accounts for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok.
How can I use Clubhouse?
In order to use the app, you have to meet two requirements: Firstly, you need an iPhone - Clubhouse is currently only available in Apple's App Store. On the other hand, someone must have invited you. This step also makes Clubhouse exclusive. However, the developers of the app did not want to create any artificial exclusivity. They just wanted to ensure that the number of users does not multiply explosively, but steadily increases. This should ensure sufficient support. By the way: Access by invitation shouldn't last forever. At some point, the app should be available to everyone - also for Android and without an invitation..
What does the clubhouse cost?
Clubhouse is so far a free app. However, it is still under development, so a later fee cannot be ruled out. However, it can also be that the user data is evaluated for marketing purposes. You would then not have to pay with real money, but with the data you enter in the messenger.
Does Clubhouse pay attention to data protection?
How exactly it will look with future data protection at Clubhouse remains to be seen. At the moment this topic is still very sensitive. As soon as the app is started for the first time, Clubhouse would like to have direct access to your contacts saved on your smartphone. These are then saved with the telephone number on the operator's server. It is unknown whether and how this data has been used so far. In addition, in the data protection declaration you (must) actually give permission for Alpha Exploration to use and pass on this data . In addition, all conversations take place live, but are recorded by the app. Officially, this is only intended to ensure that the courtesy guidelines are adhered to. In the meantime, hackers have read 1.3 million user-related data from the app and disseminated it online..
Without giving your own telephone number, you will not get any further when registering in the Clubhouse. However, the capacities of the development studio are currently not high enough to regularly check all rooms and contents. This has already resulted in a lot of discriminatory content being distributed that users have complained about. Therefore, the creators have already set new guidelines and announced that they are working on the problem. A final solution has yet to be found. According to Alpha Exploration, the recorded conversations should be deleted immediately if no complaint is received in the corresponding room after completion.
Will Clubhouse be the next big social media network?
It's not that easy to answer. There are always messengers and social networks that look very promising, but are then quickly forgotten. A good example is Vero, which was advertised as THE new social media network a few years ago - like Instagram and Facebook, only better. Nowadays the number of users has decreased significantly. Another example is TikTok. This app has built up a fan base from China and is actually still very popular at the moment. The bottom line is that it can be said that no reliable forecast is possible. However, Clubhouse brings a new feature, namely the pure audio exchange, without any text. So it remains to be seen how it develops.