WHAT?
One more social platform (internal + audible groan!).
That was my first reaction when I heard about ClubHouse. So much so, I didn’t bother even checking what it was about. Until someone (thank you Vanipriya) sent me an invite. And checked again, to make sure I clicked it (coz surely I had missed it as spam text).
Within minutes of downloading and getting set up, I had the feeling of having entered a wonderland of voices – literally and figuratively. I kid you not, with my first 48 hours, I edited my BIO at least a dozen times. Every time, I stumbled across a new club or interest to follow, I realised I had missed something and wanted to update my bio. My first round of what I put down as likes, was embarrassingly naive. I had entered ClubHouse without any real sense of what it was and what I’d do there. And if you are wondering about the party-hat reference – everyone gets a party hat for their first week on Clubhouse – so everyone knows you’re a newbie. Mortifying?
Hopefully my blog will help someone else not be such a complete noob! And to be fair, look for rooms and groups that help new members with their Bio, rules of CH, guidelines and more.
As always, to understand anything, let’s start with Wikipedia definition:
“Clubhouse is an invitation-only social media app for iOS and Android where users can communicate in voice chat rooms that accommodate groups of thousands of people. The audio-only app hosts live discussions, with opportunities to participate through speaking and listening.”
If you grew up with computers in the 90s, chat rooms aren’t new as a concept. But this, with audio, real-time conversations and people bringing their authentic selves and not weird chatroom names, felt more like being at a conference 24/7. I was thrown back to my Inbound (the MOST AMAZING marketer conference by Hubspot) experiences – where there was always breakout sessions or talk shows, or keynote speeches happening, that I could drop in to.
On my very first evening on ClubHouse, I was part of a marketer discussion with globally situated participants. I somehow got bumped up to the stage (see my diagram to understand a typical CH room), first to ask a question. And in some minutes, I ended up answering someone else’s question (about launching a product line and drumming up interest via Instagram). I was impressed by how articulate and sharp everyone was. And I realised I was in the company of experienced marketers, budding and established experts and thought leaders. It is always wonderful to feel you’re in great company and I enjoyed it. The feeling was multiplied many times over due to the effect of months of lockdown, restrictions on travel, events and general intelligent human interaction outside my immediate circle of work, family and friends.
In my next room, I was listening in to a very timely, industry-wide discussion on Influencer marketing guidelines. It was great to see the entire ecosystem represented – from ASCI members to agency heads, from brand owners to influencers. I took away some great insights and learning that were relevant to some ongoing discussions at work. (Read my blog based on this discussion).
Over 2-3 days, I was hooked. I found myself wanting to ping in so many friends and work buddies into various discussions. I found myself on stage as a speaker on a couple of more occasions and even as moderator briefly in one discussion. I made a few new connections that spilt over from CH to Instagram and Linkedin as well.
I also stumbled across many open mics, JAM sessions, karaoke groups, theatre groups and more. A whole new world of incongruously virtual yet intimate performance experiences with fewer people, even if many of them are strangers.
Needless to say, I am fascinated AND hooked. Which explains why on almost every client call this week, I have been checking in for CH presence and urging the business owners & professionals I know to explore this platform.
As with anything good, there is also a flip side. Here are my top 3 issues to watch out for:
- CH is addictive. One needs to be conscious about the time to invest, present, participate and what you’d like to take away (or give!).
- Read the ROOM. This takes on new meaning in CH. Unless you are good at this, you may end up wasting time and going nowhere. Some people seem to be on CH simply because they love their own voice 🙂 or for other purposes. Avoid!
- CH Post Covid/Lockdown: Across the world, CH seems to be forging new conversations and connections. Will this still seem super attractive once we go back to our unrestricted lives and normal routines? My guess is most will stay on CH but participation may be lesser, more focused and planned maybe?
In the current context, perhaps more people are taking refuge or projecting their need for real-time human connection and conversation onto ClubHouse. It explains why many of the discussions I stumbled into were stimulating and informative. It also seems like early days in India (ClubHouse opened on March 2020 and right now is still invitation-based) and that opens up opportunities to explore, create a space (or club!) for yourself. This is a potential boon for creators, artists, thought leaders and in fact, anyone with a voice who wants a stage.
Well, if you’re not there already, how about you join me on ClubHouse? It just may be fun to discover what it’s all about in your own way.
(DM me if you want an invite – I got 2-3 more added to my account)
Pavithra 