What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is a newer platform that is rapidly gaining popularity. CH is all about conversations over voice. That’s right. This is a space for actually speaking and listening. Let’s break it down into: How do I join Clubhouse? What will I find on Clubhouse? Why should I be using Clubhouse?

Joining Clubhouse

For now, Clubhouse is only app-based and only available for iOS (sorry Android, I’m sure you will get to join the party soon).
Clubhouse is invite-only. Each user has a limited number of invites available. On your CH profile it will display who invited you to the platform and the date you joined. (Shoutout to mi amigo Charlie Holt for inviting me.)

What the heck is on there?

Think of CH like a virtual convention. You can browse the main hallway and see a list of Rooms to join. The room listing will display it’s Topic, a list of the first few names of people in the room, and a headcount of people in the room. I have been in rooms that range from 15 to over 1,000 listeners.
When you enter a room, nobody is notified that you entered. Likewise, no one is notified when you leave. In fact, the exit button is titled “Leave quietly”.
Inside the room you will see:
- The list of moderators at the top. These are the main speakers of the room. They also have admin controls. Think of them as the guest speakers sitting up on the stage.
- The next list, confusingly, is called the speakers. These are people who did a “raise hand” action and a moderator moved them to this group. The moderators call on people in this group to hear and respond to their questions.
- Lastly we have the “others in the room”. That’s the rest of us who are listening to the conversation. Maybe we will ask a question and participate or maybe we will just listen.

Why you should be using Clubhouse

Value. CH has rooms across a wide variety of topics such as Business, Entertainment, Tech, Social, Wellness, Religious, etc.
CH is a space where you can listen to inspiring conversations and ask for advice from successful people from all over the world.
Networking. Every user has a profile that you can view to see their photo and read their bio. You can follow them and choose to be alerted when they are running a room. You can click on anyone and invite them to speak with you in a private room.

Things to note

Conversations are not recorded. Everything is live and there are no archives. If you are not there when it is happening then you missed it.
There is no in-app text messaging. In place of this, you are able to link your Twitter and Instagram accounts. Instagram seems to be the main way moderators suggest reaching out to each other to connect.
CH can be addicting. It is a worldwide community. London is 5 hours ahead of me here in the Eastern Time Zone. At 5am my time when most people are sleeping, there are active conversations going on. I love it.

Want to join the Clubhouse?