Socio-Technical Analysis
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Clubhouse is a social software that allows users to communicate using its synchronous voice function. It was developed by Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth in Silicon Valley and was launched in March, 2021. Since social media apps have already passed the explosive growth stage, neither the voice platform based on the sound transmission nor the content platform based on ‘ear economy’ are new. So, why is this software with simple functions so popular?
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The spread of coronavirus has not yet been controlled globally since the beginning of 2020, and the day when the global quarantine ends also seems far away. Prolonged isolation at home increases feelings of loneliness. Although there are some social media products such as Twitter, Facebook, and WeChat, most of them mainly provide asynchronous communication. Messaging back and forth does not bring the same level of intimacy as face-to-face conversations. However, Clubhouse allows people to communicate more intimately during the coronavirus pandemic. The synchronous chatting function in Clubhouse gives people an in-person experience while connecting people from all over the world to celebrities and influencers.
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Voice-based social media platforms are not new. As early as 2004, YY, a Chinese social network, provided a live audio sharing application in the game industry and became the largest game voice communication platform in China. With the rise of podcasts, audio sharing products have attracted a large number of users and investors. You might remember that, back in 2020, it seemed like everyone was suddenly making their own podcasts in a wide variety of topics. A major characteristic of Clubhouse is that it does not allow any sort of texting within the app. You can only choose to enter a room as a speaker or audience. Clubhouse does not have a text or live commenting function - it allows synchronous chat. All registered users can create a room and become a moderator. There are three types of rooms: open (open to the public), social (open to the users the moderators follow) and closed (open to the people the moderator invites). The moderator can also actively invite listeners to become speakers.
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In addition, Clubhouse is not open to everyone - only these with an invitation code can register to use the app. This system is similar to the traditional elite club that some have in mind. It is a top-down system that allows the invitation code to be passed down from entrepreneurs, investors, celebrities and experts, level by level . However, users of Clubhouse do not need to provide documentation of expertise or banking accounts, which means that everyone can use Clubhouse as long as they have an invitation code. One can get a code from a friend and casually listens to Elon Musk talk about anything. Clubhouse can be summarized as a sociotechnical system for creating a connection between the elite and the public, with the public being general users and the elite being celebrities and experts.
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Using the “star power” to attract new users is done differently by Clubhouse. The distinction between Clubhouse and other apps like Instagram is its authenticity: it is “unfiltered access from the celebrity to their fans. The audio-only and synchronous nature of the app gives users a sense of extreme intimacy. The limited number of listeners in a room also increases this sense of intimacy. A celebrity can have two million followers on Instagram, but they may not even have 2000 listeners in a Clubhouse chat room, making listeners feel more connected and special.
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As more and more celebrities and general users join the platform, it is becoming more popular and accessible. Existing users can invite more friends than before. However, it is not certain to what extent the system of Clubhouse will be changed and reconstructed. The app just started to offer a payment function. Listeners can pay a small amount of money to the moderators of the chat room to express appreciation. But the future of monetization is unclear for Clubhouse at this point as the maintenance of audio-transfering servers can be expensive. Nonetheless, many registered users have already learned new skills and knowledge from Clubhouse. Since Clubhouse has abundant topics and experts of different fields, it can potentially become the next go-to knowledge-sharing platform and become profitable by offering the option of paid chat rooms.
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Social media platforms give everyone an opportunity to connect with people around the world, but the usual editing-and-uploading model makes the connection seem lagged and fabricated. This changes because of Clubhouse. Unfiltered and unedited social media experiences break the barriers of online communication by eliminating texting, editing, and uploading. It matters less, for us users, that Clubhouse becomes the next Instagram. As long as the connections are made and the values are shared, Clubhouse will be valued.
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