There it was! An invitation to Clubhouse poking out of my email inbox. Of course, I had to accept. It would have been rude not to. Then, I discovered how rare these invitations were.
Just like Twitter and other apps when they first emerged on the scene, being active on the application enables you to interact with people that you might never have gotten the chance to speak with ordinarily. (like the room I was in yesterday where you were able to ask business tips from tycoons who made 8-9 figures annually).
The difference is two-fold. First, unlike other apps, Clubhouse deals with voice-based content, like having the ability to conference call with a few or a hundred people, all while you are in the comfort of your home wearing PJs.
Secondly, you can only activate your Clubhouse account if you have gotten an invitation from a friend on the social network.
Be a Part of the Pilot Program
This app is still in the pilot or beta phase and though I thought that it was relatively new (as in the last 2 months), it actually became available in the app store in April 2020 but the program with invitations started with influencers as of December 2020 allowing those with a social media following to enroll.
You can connect, network and chat live or you can enter a room and just listen like a fly on the wall. The catch? At this point, it only works with iPhones. If you have an android phone, you will have to wait until that rolls out in the future.
As a user or participant in Clubhouse, you can join a room to listen in on discussions for topics that appeal to yourself and even enter a conversation if the moderator approves you to speak, or you can start your own room. My room is “Marketing Club” and I’d love for you to visit me in the future.
Check Out This Growth!
Interesting statistics amassed by Backlinko:
- Clubhouse has 6 million registered users, from 600,000 in 12/20
- Clubhouse is currently valued at $1 billion (from $100 million 5/20)
- Clubhouse has raised over $10 million to date, 2/21
- Over 180 organizations and venture capitalists have invested in Clubhouse so far
- It was started by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth
- With its $1 billion valuation, Clubhouse is now a Unicorn startup, joining the ranks of Uber and AirBnb.
- Clubhouse is currently ranked #5 in the App Store under the “Social Networking” category
- Clubhouse has over 228,000 ratings with a 4.9 star review
- In January 2021, there have been 2.3 million downloads of this app with one third taking place only since January 28th.
It is NOT currently publically traded but my suggestion is to keep an eye on it because should the time come where you can buy shares, they will probably soar astronomically!
Clubhouse Topics and Users
Data amassed by Exploding Topics showed that searches for “Clubhouse app” have soared by 3250% in the last 90 days!
| User | Followers |
|---|---|
| Elon Musk | 240k |
| Mark Zuckerberg | 28.8k |
| 21 Savage | 904k |
| Drake | 14.2k |
| Meek Mill | 1.1M |
| Terry Crews | 16.1k |
| Michael Ovitz | 5.1k |
| Ev Williams | 15.5k |
| Soulja Boy | 31.8k |
Sources: The Information, Fortune.
Twitter vs. Clubhouse
Twitter can see the writing on the wall. Clubhouse is already a force to contend with and in order to compete, Twitter has started tinkering with a new feature named “Spaces” for audio interaction among multiple people for discussions and debates. This is something that I feel Twitter needed to become more human and engaging.
Go To Your Room
Even though you may not have gotten an invitation yet, you can still register and save a name that you’d like to reserve for the future. I can honestly tell you that from the very first time I used the app, I was hooked. The information and engagement became an addiction and I wanted to hear everything that I could on topics that interested me.
It will be of interest to see whether it can maintain its energy but if you have the same experience that I did, it will become very popular as time goes on.
