Clubhouse Is the 'Big Stinker That Nobody Wants To Talk About' (substack.com) 24
Ed Zitron, CEO of national Media Relations and Public Relations company EZPR, writes about Clubhouse -- a one-year-old social audio app that is valued at $4 billion and is backed by several high-profile investors including A16z and Tiger Global and whose popularity appears to be on a decline: Yes, Clubhouse's vanity metrics say that people are creating "500,000 rooms a day," and they've launched a DM feature, but seriously -- I am asking you, dear reader, do you know a single soul who has spent more than a few minutes on Clubhouse in the last 3 months? If you do, do they spend regular time on the app? [...] Clubhouse is the elephant in the room in venture, and I believe there is a conscious attempt to not discuss it for fear that it proves that the entire conversation around it was hot air. When everyone desperately rushed to say that it was the next big thing, I asked repeatedly what exactly about it was going to be big, or change things. The answer mostly came down to the idea that we don't know what the future looks like, and that people were on the waitlist - which is no longer an excuse.
Nick Bilton at Vanity Fair was a rare case of dissent, making a clear warning that this was very much a pandemic app and nothing more -- but many people in venture and tech do not seem to want to discuss it as anything other than "a big social network." The Information questioned whether Clubhouse was the next Foursquare -- a promising company with tons of press that ultimately didn't reach the giddy heights it was "meant to" -- but for the most part, people have remained either indifferent or positive about it. The fact this isn't regularly discussed is both a bad sign for the app and also a sign, in my opinion, of an industry-wide embarrassment. So many people rushed to join Clubhouse, or discuss what's big on Clubhouse, or how Clubhouse was the beginning of a "social audio revolution" because they were afraid they'd miss out on the next TikTok, and I'd argue that the press did a woeful job at actually questioning the format. It feels as if there was an unquestioning conflation between an app being important and an app raising a bunch of money, and though one can say that the simple act of raising makes something important, it's irresponsible and embarrassing to run a single article on Clubhouse without questioning the format itself.
Nick Bilton at Vanity Fair was a rare case of dissent, making a clear warning that this was very much a pandemic app and nothing more -- but many people in venture and tech do not seem to want to discuss it as anything other than "a big social network." The Information questioned whether Clubhouse was the next Foursquare -- a promising company with tons of press that ultimately didn't reach the giddy heights it was "meant to" -- but for the most part, people have remained either indifferent or positive about it. The fact this isn't regularly discussed is both a bad sign for the app and also a sign, in my opinion, of an industry-wide embarrassment. So many people rushed to join Clubhouse, or discuss what's big on Clubhouse, or how Clubhouse was the beginning of a "social audio revolution" because they were afraid they'd miss out on the next TikTok, and I'd argue that the press did a woeful job at actually questioning the format. It feels as if there was an unquestioning conflation between an app being important and an app raising a bunch of money, and though one can say that the simple act of raising makes something important, it's irresponsible and embarrassing to run a single article on Clubhouse without questioning the format itself.
I know a lot of WhatsApp audio clips users... (Score:3)
...(which is fucking hate), but i know literally no one who uses Clubhouse - or ever heard about it, for that matter.
Feels like (Score:3, Interesting)
Clubhouse is the elephant in the room in venture, and I believe there is a conscious attempt to not discuss it for fear that it proves that the entire conversation around it was hot air. When everyone desperately rushed to say that it was the next big thing, I asked repeatedly what exactly about it was going to be big, or change things
Replace "Clubhouse" with "Bitcoin", and it feels exactly the same.
Re:Feels like (Score:4, Informative)
Replace "Clubhouse" with "Bitcoin", and it feels exactly the same.
No. I actually know people who have Bitcoin, and Bitcoin is a household name. Clubhouse on the other hand. WTF is Clubhouse.
Nah (Score:2)
Too many people have been trying to talk about it lately, if you ask me.
Club-what? (Score:2)
Is that a new Disney show? I sure hope it has Justin and Annette.
Do They Even Know The Internet? (Score:2)
Yeah, I grew up in the Hamptons.
When I hear the word "clubhouse", the only thing that comes to mind is rich and ultra-rich assholes bragging over mimosas about how many countries they've visited this month.
No thanks.
Exclusivity was the appeal. (Score:4, Interesting)
Now it's just a free-for-all for everyone, the appeal has mostly vanished. Especially when the reality of it is a barely readable mess of emojis and some questionable UI design.
Re: (Score:1)
Now it's just a free-for-all for everyone, the appeal has mostly vanished.
No one goes to Clubhouse anymore, it's too crowded.
Re: Exclusivity was the appeal. (Score:2)
Yogi Bera reference? Nice.
Re: (Score:1)
Never pass by the opportunity to make Yogi Bera reference. :-)
Re: (Score:1)
And I understand there is alot of "undesirable" content there in rooms created by "interesting" people.
It actually seems to have become a literal echo chamber for those who have "unconventional" believes.
Too early to judge (Score:2)
I am asking you, dear reader, do you know a single soul who has spent more than a few minutes on Clubhouse in the last 3 months?
Of course, because all this time it's been "invitation only." We now hear taht it has been opened up, so let's see what happens when people have some time to discover it.
What? (Score:2)
I've never even heard of it. So no. And based on the short description, it seems like not something anyone I know would use, myself included.
No one wants to talk about it... (Score:2)
Translation.... (Score:3)
Translation.... "A bunch of people seem to be doing something I don't like and they aren't listening to me when I keep telling them I don't like it."
News at 11.
Clubhouse is a public conference call system (Score:2)
That is about all it is. The article is right, no one seems to use it regularly.
An oddity which will be easily subsumed by Facebook, Twitter et al as a feature.
Concept behind is still original though (Score:1)