Right at the peak of the Covid19 pandemic, at a time where a lot of people felt lonely and starved of human interaction, a new social networking app that allowed people to have audio-only conversations in rooms emerged. Its introduction was timely, and that gave it all the hype it needed to succeed. That and the fact that at the time it was an invite-only app meant you were pretty cool if you were on it. The topic of discourse in its rooms could be any and everything and a lot of top Venture Capitalists were raving about it. Everyone wanted to be on Clubhouse, and understandably so. 

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What is the Clubhouse app?

Clubhouse uses voice-only communication which means it’s possible to join in on conversations while performing everyday activities- from doing laundry to commuting. Everything of your tone, inflection, and emotion is  expressed via voice, and users are allowed to hop in and out of rooms, listen to and contribute to conversations as they please.  

The question as to whether Clubhouse remains relevant is a difficult one to answer. This is because it has lost its luster and buzz, is no longer an exclusive app, and the development of competing platforms such as Twitter Spaces has caused the hype around it to decline considerably. 

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In spite of this, Clubhouse app’s voice chat can still be used effectively for business and networking and of course, having fun conversations.

The app remains one of the 20 most downloaded apps as of January 2022, with over 2 million weekly active users. Clubhouse has over 13 million downloads, and it brings with it a new element to social networking and real-time online interactions.

Pros and Cons of Using Clubhouse

Let’s take a look at a few pros and cons of the Clubhouse app:

Pros:

• You can have conversations with almost anybody, including celebrities and VCs
• It’s a great place for content creators and marketers
• Connects you to like minds and people of similar interests
• Encourages genuine conversations since its audio-only
• Has an awesome payment structure that allows followers to reward content creators 

Cons:

• Too many chat rooms that may or may not be of interest to you, it can get a little noisy.
• Due to the existence of a lot of rooms with everybody having an opinion on everything, credibility could become an issue.
• Clubhouse has had its cases of cyberbullying, with a few Appstore reviews reporting rooms that are dedicated to bullying particular people. 
• Like every social media app, Clubhouse could get quite addictive too.

Getting Started on Clubhouse

If you were trying to join Clubhouse in 2020, you would have needed an invite from someone who was already a user. Back then every user got just two invites, so getting started was a hassle. Now, Clubhouse is no longer invite-only, and anyone with a smartphone running on the iOS or Android operating systems can use the app. Creating an account on the app is pretty easy, just take the following steps:

• Go to the Appstore on your iOS device or the Google Playstore on your android device and search for Clubhouse. download the app and wait for it to install
• Open the app and click on the “Get your Username icon”,  
• Fill out your phone number, verify it and fill in every other detail required. 

You can choose topics that interest you from the available list after providing some basic information during registration to help the app give more personalized suggestions. You can also customize your profile by uploading your photo or altering your avatar and providing a description that includes information about your interests, employers, or niche. The app also allows you to link your other social media handles as this would give those who visit your profile more context as to the kind of person you are, or at least claim to be. 

You can start exploring clubhouse app’s chat rooms once you are done setting up. The homepage is the first place to look. Although there is no icon for it, you can get to it by pressing the back button in the upper left corner of any other page in the app. If nothing on the homepage interests you, you can access the explore page by tapping the magnifying glass icon. From here you get recommendations on what individuals to follow, and can also click on certain themes to find ongoing chat rooms, persons, or groups relevant to them.

Clubs are comparable to Facebook or LinkedIn Groups in that they are groups of members that have similar interests. You can view alerts of rooms hosted by a club after you join it. Clubs can also be used to identify and interact with other Clubhouse users who share your interests. You may either skim through the Explore tab or use the search box to find clubs by searching a topic.

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When you find a room or audio chat room you’d want to join (or “drop-in”), all you have to do is tap it to begin listening. As soon as you enter a room, you’ll be muted as a listener. At the top of the screen, you’ll notice the room speakers and moderators. Moderators refer to the unmarked section of the room screen that highlights the speakers as “the stage.”

Under the “Followed by speakers” category, you’ll find a list of speakers’ attendance, as well as a list of general attendees under “Others in the room.” All spectators who are not on stage are muted and unable to speak until they are brought to the stage.

When you raise your hand, the moderator is aware of your wish to speak and has the option of unmuting you or ignoring you. Ask your question or stay on topic with any points you add if a moderator unmutes you, which will move your name and icon up to the speaker stage. You should also avoid hogging the microphone, give others a chance to speak, and respect any moderator-issued room rules (s). This will ensure that you are identified as a speaker for as long as possible.

Because of the way Clubhouse is set up, rooms with several moderators can go for hours, and sometimes days, so there’s nothing wrong in leaving a room before it’s over. All you have to do is tap “Leave”

How to Create a Chatroom on Clubhouse

Any Clubhouse user can create a room on the app. When creating a room, there are three options to choose from. They include: 

• Closed room: can only be accessed by people who you invite.

• Social rooms: A room that’s only open to your followers.
• Open rooms: A room that’s open to anyone on the Clubhouse app.

To start a room,  you can click on either the “Start a Room” button at the bottom of your screen, or you can just utilize the “Start a Room” button at the top of the app. You can also use the icon next to the “Start a Room” button to see who is online among your followers and start rooms with them directly.

When you tap the calendar icon to book a room, you’ll be sent to a screen where you may choose an event name, co-hosts or moderators, an initial guest list, a date, and a detailed description. The event will appear on the Upcoming tab once you press the publish button. You or your moderators will simply enter the room to begin it when the time arrives.

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Your icon will appear at the top of the screen when your room starts, and you will not be on mute. Start introducing yourself, your moderators (if you have any), and other presenters at this point. You could also wish to state what the room is intended to discuss as well as any ground rules. 

You can appoint a moderator before you leave a room you’ve opened if you don’t want it to finish for audiences.  A room can endure for hours or days because several moderators can keep it running. You will restore your moderator powers, as well as your ability to speak and take over if you return to a room you started after leaving it.

Wrapping Up

The popular saying, “form is temporary, class is permanent “ applies to Clubhouse in a lot of ways. While the initial buzz may have died out,  it still remains a top-tier destination for content creators to hold meaningful conversations on diverse topics. Opinion leaders, venture capitalists are still on hand to share knowledge and experiences. Moreover, the app is free, you stand nothing to lose by joining anyway. With a lot of influencers emerging from the app, it would be great to know how influencer fraud works and how to avoid it. We also have articles on how to recognize good engagements on your social media pages and unique ways to create social media vitality.