Clubhouse: What is it and Why is it Everywhere?

{ By Emily O’Connell, Editorial Coordinator }

Clubhouse is an invitation-only audio-chat iPhone app launched in April 2020 by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co. In May 2020, the social networking app was valued at nearly $100 million. On January 21, 2021, the valuation reached $1 billion.

Part talkback radio, part conference call, Clubhouse is a social networking app based on audio-chat. Users can listen in to conversations, interviews and discussions between interesting people on various topics – it is just like tuning in to a podcast but live and with an added layer of exclusivity (The Guardian).  

Unlike other apps, Clubhouse is invite only. You can’t just download it off the app store and create an account. Much like a real life country club, you have to be invited to join by an existing member.  It’s like the real world – virtual – elitism. 

Once accepted, you can select a variety of topics of interest like tech, music, business and entertainment.  The more information you give the app about your interests, the more conversational rooms you can join.  The rooms are just like a conference call, but with some people on the call talking, and some listening.

So how do you get an invite? It’s not difficult – you just need a Clubhouse user to send an invite from their account, giving you access to set up an account. If you’re invited, you see a link texted to your phone number.  

Clubhouse users can’t send an invite to anyone – existing users only have two invites available at first.

In their recent blog post, Clubhouse creators have announced their goal is to complete the app’s beta stage so they can eventually open the club to the whole world. 

So what do you think of Clubhouse? Are you on the app?