My experience with Clubhouse

One month back, I got the Clubhouse nomination (Clubhouse is currently an invite-only app available only to iPhone users) and added a new app to the list of 100 apps on my phone.

Clubhouse is a new audio-only (Yayy!! No video!!) social media app where people can come together and discuss anything on the earth. Newbies like me can start a live room which others can join. Once you are one of the most active members of the application (I don’t know how that is determined), you will be able to create a club and schedule regular sessions.

When I had not used it and only heard about it on Twitter, I thought of it as a live podcast where only the guests and the moderators can speak, and other participants can listen. When I used it, I got to know that one can participate as well. A feature called “Raise a hand”,, which if pressed, informs the moderator that you want to say something, and they can allow you to speak.

During the one month, I participated in some rooms, listened to few conversations, asked questions and shared my opinion. I have started liking the platform and thought of sharing what I like about the app.

1. Audio only: I find audio calls the most convenient way of communication if you are not speaking with someone close, like family or friends. Like video calls, there is no stress about the messy clothes lying around in your room, lighting not correct, your face not visible, kids fighting behind you. The voice conveys emotions better than a text message or an email unless you are a poet or a songwriter. The voice modulation makes the conversations organic and enables the listener to empathise with you. The bonus point is you can walk around in your pyjamas or finish off small household chores while discussing your favourite topic with over 100 people.
2. Casual conversations: The current pandemic has restricted the movement of people and meetups. However, professional and educational conferences are happening through webinars, but what about informal discussions? The conversations you will have with a stranger at a party or with a colleague over a coffee break. Pandemic has made people suffer from stress, anxiety and loneliness and the antidote to all the mental health issues is to “talk”. Clubhouse is a platform where you can discuss the movies you like to watch over weekends or hear people sing their favourite songs or discuss your mental health issues or have a general chit chat over a cup of morning tea. I recently saw a room for all the nursing mothers who have to get up many times during the night to feed their newborns, and I was so happy to see a room like that.
3. Chance to speak with experts and hear them live: Clubhouse has accounts of leaders, tech entrepreneurs, celebrities, career counsellors, sports legends, investors. Though other platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have more such people, the difference is you can participate in discussion with them, ask the questions directly, seek answers and opinions. Recently Elon Musk came to the clubhouse where The Good Times Show interviewed him. He was followed by Mark Zuckerberg, who appeared on the same show and spoke about Facebook’s Reality Labs group. Zuckerberg made his second appearance on the platform with the Spotify CEO and Shopify's CEO in a room hosted by Josh Constine.

I find Clubhouse an innovative and useful application. However, there are certain things that the makers can improve for a better user experience.

1. Notifications: My phone screen is always filled with clubhouse notifications. They have the mute option to pause the notifications for an hour or a week or until the next morning or evening. The user can also reduce the frequency of notifications and set them as very frequent, frequent, normal, and infrequent. The first problem is that there is no information on what time is defined as morning and evening, and it is not specified in FAQs as well. The second problem is to understand the options in frequency; you have to go to FAQs and search for your question, which makes the process lengthy and tedious. My suggestion would be to allow the user to set a time when he doesn't want to receive the notification. The user should also be given an option of receiving notifications about certain users they follow and on the specific topics of interest.
2. Send the message to the moderator: While being in a room, the user can participate in the discussion by raising his hand. The moderator comes to know that you are interested in speaking, and they can allow you to participate. Sometimes the rooms are filled with many people, and it might not be possible for the moderator to allow everyone to speak. In this case, it will be good to have an option to send a question to the moderator. If you cannot ask yourself, the moderator can ask on your behalf.
3. Add Linkedin to the bio: Clubhouse is a great platform to network and learn. I believe apart from Twitter and Instagram; Clubhouse should add Linkedin as well. I could see many people have put their Linkedin ID in the bio, but it is not a direct link. Linkedin is one of the biggest networking platforms for professionals, and it will be good to have it in the Clubhouse.

Clubhouse is still in the beta phase and is releasing new updates regularly. I would also like to see how Clubhouse handles the hate speech and trolling on their platform, given it is an audio-only application. When they release the application to android users and remove the invite-only onboarding process, the user base will increase manifold, and the biggest challenge will be monitoring the users for abusive content. With competition building up in this space as many social media players are launching or planning to launch a similar feature in their application, the challenge to maintain the user base will increase. Let us see how far this conversation goes!!