Is Clubhouse Worth It? What to Know Before Accepting An Invitation
Originally posted on Medium (03/27/2021)
Logo Obtained from Clubhouse Press Site
Audio is a powerful form of communication. It can be just you, a microphone, and maybe a pair of headphones that will allow you to tap into great music, provoking podcasts, or deep conversations with someone else’s voice on the other side. One of the most popular apps in the audio industry today is Clubhouse.
According to PCMag, Clubhouse is “[an] invite-only, audio-based iPhone app [that] is like listening in on someone else’s phone call, legally.” The topics of discussion are near endless. A chat room could be about business, finance, sports, cars, technology, health and wellness, literature, entertainment, etc. — it’s a long, growing list.
Aside from leveraging the impact of audio, another competitive advantage is its pseudo-sense of exclusivity, as you can only join the platform by being invited by someone else already there. Everyone begins with two invites, but your invite count can grow if you remain active on the forum, plus your invited users remain active as well. Being active on Clubhouse means listening to chat rooms, hosting conversations, following other users, and building a following of your own.
Clubhouse is only available to iOS users (for now), and it is currently under beta testing. For the handful of entrepreneurs I know active on Clubhouse, it seems to be going pretty well for them. They are leveraging this new platform to build their influence and create networking opportunities to connect outside the workplace. However, I emphasize the word “handful” because it would be unjust to report on Clubhouse’s significant faults.
Since its release, technology scholars and journalists have reported Clubhouse’s low moderation and data collection defects. Unfortunately, these reports quickly went unnoticed with Clubhouse’s announced valuation of $1B (Axios, 2021) and Elon Musk joining the platform (TechCrunch, 2021).
Low moderation carries positive and negative connotations. The low entry barriers gift an opportunity to someone who may not have access or leverage on other platforms to create conversation here. Unfortunately, users have used this power for evil. In September 2020, The Verge interviewed users overhearing anti-Semitic conversations on Clubhouse. In December 2020, recordings shared with Vanity Fair posted Paris-based writer Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry persecuting Muslims on the topic of terrorism in Paris through misleading opinions.
One notable incident involved Silicon Valley elitists ridiculing American journalist Taylor Lorenz with sexist comments for her critical reporting of the tech industry (Vice, 2020). Fortunately, Lorenz carried on with her important work and started a running list of discriminatory incidents on Clubhouse here. The one constant in all of these events is that the co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth have done nothing radical about preventing incidents like this from happening again.
As for data privacy concerns, a universal privacy concern is the app’s demand for access to your contacts list. Users join Clubhouse through invites, so everyone in your contact list already on Clubhouse gets notified when you join, whether you want them knowing or not. Moreover, users not on your personal contacts list but have you listed in theirs also get notified that you have joined the platform (Vox, 2021). Tech reporters have repeatedly inquired where this data goes but have received no answer. Clubhouse may have to provide one soon as they are under investigation for these kinds of concerns in France (TechCrunch, 2021).
Another fundamental consideration content creators should think about is where your content goes. It may seem like conversations are never recorded to sell the “live” experience to your followers. However, conversations still end up on YouTube and SoundCloud, whether you commissioned them or not. Clubhouse’s privacy policy also states that they temporarily record conversations for any reported issues but do not specify where those recordings go (Inc, 2021).
Overall, it is easy to follow the fad of joining Clubhouse because your close friends or favorite influencers are on the platform. However, the Cal Newport approach of observing from afar (and at least waiting for Clubhouse to conclude its beta testing) may be the safest option for people who want to be more conscious of their technology usage and how it affects them.
