The Clubhouse Phenomenon: Do We Need Another Social Network?

Abstract

Being a combination of the conference call, talkback radio, audio podcast, and an online video chat, Clubhouse is a new social networking app that gained over 10 million users and over $100 in valuation in just 8 months. Unlike other social networks, it offers a real-time streaming audio chat that does not ask users to share any unnecessary information like exchanging text messages, conducting video calls, or sharing photos. Instead, Clubhouse users can listen to real-time conversations, contribute to these conversations and create their own conversations for the others to listen and to interact with. Often nicknamed a “Silicon Valley’s hottest start-up”, Clubhouse positions itself as an “exclusive” and “alternative” social network that attracts various celebrities and people who just want to talk to each other. Launched in March 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with its social distancing and lockdowns, Clubhouse offered its users a space for the digital group psychotherapy where people could solve their problems by talking them through with strangers. However, it is unclear what is going to happen to this new social network in the post-pandemic world after all of its hype eventually evaporates. This paper discusses the possible underlying motives for the Clubhouse creation and its real purposes. Moreover, it looks at the three possible scenarios of its further development.

Continuance intention to use audio live-streaming applications: Understanding the influence of gratifications-technology fit and gratifications obtained

“…Continuous intentions also increased when users felt that audio streaming services were more sociable than they expected. This finding supported Strielkowski's (2021) possible scenario that audio platforms, especially Clubhouse, might profile themselves as a type of social media where users could relieve themselves of their troubles and problems by talking about them to…”

“…The current study provides additional evidence confirming that when audio streaming services meet users' information gratification, users intend to repeat the use in the future. This is probably related to the growing number of global celebrities who are appearing as speakers on Clubhouse, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and are taking part in discussions on many interesting topics (Strielkowski, 2021). In the context of the current study, Kuwaiti politicians, economists, and other influencers have also launched conversations and discussions on Clubhouse, where users have opportunities to learn useful things and obtain updated information.…”

“…In fact, moderators sometimes play the role of speaker in Clubhouse rooms. Among the application's users, there is a high-quality audience of celebrities, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who were considered the first to enter the Clubhouse application (Strielkowski, 2021). Due to the fact that users prefer to spend a great deal of time on the application and that a large number of rooms are opened every day, Clubhouse is expected to become the next big knowledge-sharing platform (Zhu, 2021).…”

“…The application's developers have become concerned about the exponential increase in Clubhouse use. The popularity of the application could not have been achieved without the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced social distancing and strict lockdowns (Strielkowski, 2021). Thus, the current significant increase might be substantially weakened once pandemic restrictions are lifted.…”

Yeni Bir İletişim Ortamı Olarak Clubhouse Uygulamasının Sanal Cemaatler Odağında Değerlendirilmesi

“…Bu platformda hiçbir mesaj kaydedilmez ve saklanmaz. Kullanıcılar istediği çeşitli konuşmaları dinleyip diğer konuşmacılarla iletişime geçebilir (Strielkowski, 2021). Clubhouse uygulaması, salgın döneminde ortaya çıkan ve ilk başta sadece Iphone kullanıcıları tarafından kullanılabilen, ancak daha sonra tüm akıllı telefon kullanan bireylerin ulaşabildiği bir mecra haline gelmiştir.…”