Technology commentator Sarah Putt looks at the new 'cool' app, Clubhouse. It's invite-only and also only available on iPhone.
She tells Kathryn Ryan that Clubhouse's popularity has exploded in the last month.
Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/AFP
“It’s the new cool kid in town when it comes to social media and its taking the form of an audio chat app. Where, before, it was all text and photos like in Facebook and Twitter, this is all about audio.”
She says people on the app can go into different rooms which are hosted by two or three speakers and they present on different topics. People who want to speak use a hand icon and can be invited onto the ‘stage’.
“It’s one of those things where you want to compare it to what goes on in a non-internet world but what you’re trying to do is the next step, it’s a bit talkback, it’s a bit listening in like radio. It’s a bit like Houseparty which was big at the beginning of lockdown.”
Users can record the conversations, but there are a number of protocols and some etiquette around it.
She says people can get on the app by being invited by a user or downloading the app and joining the queue.
The app has been around for nearly a year but exploded in popularity after Tesla chief executive Elon Musk went on the app and participated in one of the rooms.
“It’s very hip in Silicon Valley and it’s very connected to the tech community and I suspect it will probably go further than that.”
The invite-only aspect has also made it tantalising and seemingly exclusive, Putt says.
One problem the app may encounter is that it automatically taps into one’s iPhone contacts, meaning people with concerns over privacy might be put off or it could run afoul of countries with strict privacy regulation.
The app has already been shut down in China where it was being used to host some frank conversations about politics.
“In a funny sort of way, it’s a measure of success when China bans you. Another measure is when other social networks want to copy you. Twitter is looking at something called Twitter spaces which is very similar to the way Clubhouse operates and apparently Facebook is working on a competitive product.”
