Exploring Audio Based Social Media Platforms: Clubhouse

People love communicating with others- in real life or be it social media. An audio-based social media platform is a great way of interacting with loads of people through the same application!

What makes Clubhouse stand out amongst the rest?

Clubhouse is an audio-only social media app developed by Alpha Exploration Co. The app was launched in the previous year, 2020, and has already risen to fame in the span of just a year. People wanting to join the app just by installing it might be disappointed since the only way to join the app is via an invitation from a pre-existing user. Individuals cannot gain access to the features of the app if not invited by an existing user.

Clubhouse offers a great feature to its limited users and i.e. supporting audio chat rooms for an unlimited number of hours, where more than 5000 people can be accommodated in a single room. These chat groups result in great conversations/discussions.

Clubhouse was initially launched only for ios but a while back, a beta version for android was made accessible on the google play store too.

In a chat room, users generally have to use the 'raise hand' option to speak. That is when the hosts of the chat room can invite the user to speak.

How to Get More Invites For Clubhouse?

Hosting several chat rooms may allow a user to get more invites to invite a friend or a colleague.

Pros of Using Clubhouse- Audio Based Social Media:

Communication:

Interaction between users in chat groups has been made very uncomplicated. Therefore, Chat Groups can be used to hold important meetings, debates, discussions, etc.

Participation:

The participation of several people in a single chat group is what makes it a supreme application.

Cons of Clubhouse- Audio Based Social Media:

Disorderly:

Since enabling a lot of people to speak at the same time could result in a very disorganized meet. Therefore, it could prove to be noisy as well as annoying.

Delays:

A lot of time can be wasted if a chat group is to be joined by more than a hundred or even more than that. From invitations to unmuting each one in the audience, it could be very time-consuming.

Alternatives for Clubhouse- Audio Based Social Media

For people who do not have an invite to the Clubhouse app, here is a list of a few alternatives that provide just as good service and ensure the quality of experience.

1.) Twitter Spaces

Twitter recently launched this feature where people can take part in live audio conversations hosted in 'spaces'.

This feature is available to users with 600 or more than 600 followers on Twitter.

2.) Discord (Voice Channels)

Since Discord is mainly used for gaming, it can also be a great way of interacting via audio through a server's voice channels. VC allows users to adjust their microphone volume, other participants' volumes, screen sharing, etc.

3.) Reddit Talk

Reddit recently announced its new feature supporting media in the form of audio very indistinguishable from clubhouse.

4.) Telegram VC

While Telegram too did not waver from competing against clubhouse and introduced its voice chat feature to the world.

Clubhouse has undoubtedly raised the bar high above our expectations. We can witness many influencers promoting the app and encouraging their supporters to try it out. The app has since day 1 been doing very well. Kudos to their developers.

Few other companies that are working on their new clubhouse like features are:

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Spotify.

Advantages of using Audio Based Social Media

Audio social networks attempt to provide a service that typical social networking sites don't really. One of the format's key advantages is that it allows users to connect to a voice or video conference right away but on their terms.

The emergence of such applications has been proven extremely helpful especially in tough times like today due to the pandemic. From business meetings to chatting with family/ friends, audio-based softwares have completely set a high standard for the rest of social media platforms.

Drawbacks of using Audio Based Social Media

While these apps are very useful as they are, there might be a slight problem when the new ideas become monotonous. Therefore, for these social media platforms to flourish, the ideas have to be interesting enough to draw all sorts of users to them.

Individuals also would like to feel secure while utilizing these applications, so new services would have to find out how to regulate content for consumers.

What is it Like in a Clubhouse Chat Room?

The chat room behaves similar to a teleconference, with some members communicating as well as the remaining having to listen along. The chat group is immediately shut when the meeting is over. Live audio-chats in conversation rooms then vanish.

How to Make Clubhouse Chat Rooms more interesting?

Hosting meetings with various fun activities could improve the quality of the session in a chat room. A few ideas to lighten up everybody's mood in clubhouse are:

1.) Hosting a Debate- a debate on a topic of choice of the majority in the chat room can make a great session.

2.) Inviting a renowned personality- might boost the spirits as a famous personality could talk and share their insights in front of the audience. Moreover, a chance to have a conversation with a well know person could provide a different point of view.

3.) Hosting Classes / AMAs(Ask Me Anything)- This idea is proven to help people raise their queries whether be it hosted by a well-known person or an educational institution.

Despite being a startup company, Clubhouse does indeed have a $1 billion estimate. In recent months, several of Silicon Valley's top executives, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, have participated in Clubhouse calls, drawing interest towards the app.