“Clubhouse is a social media platform that allows the focus to be solely on conversation.”
I first heard about Clubhouse in Los Angeles; it was described as a highly-exclusive members-only social media app available to those invited. When I tried downloading the app, I was forced on a waiting list and realized the only way to join was for someone on the app to invite me.
Created by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, Clubhouse is a platform where users can join in different chat rooms on a wide variety of topics. The conversations are audio-only, and when they finish, they disappear forever.
When I was first invited into Clubhouse, I was initially confused; however, after joining a few rooms I began to understand the platform. Clubhouse allows users to create rooms and start conversations about any topic they want. When the room is public, users can listen in or join as a speaker to contribute to the discussion.
“Clubhouse is working because it’s halfway between a podcast and a party, and people love both of those things.”
“Nathan Baschez”
Clubhouse is not the first social audio app. However, what has made it work so far is the buzz created from it being invite-only. Another significant factor that helped Clubhouse become so popular was in correlation with the pandemic. Clubhouse has allowed users to connect virtually in a more interpersonal way than its counterparts Twitter and Instagram.
However, a lot of users are not aware of Clubhouse isn’t this highly-exclusive member-only app.
Clubhouse has been in beta since earlier this year, which means that it is not available to the public. Clubhouse being open to this beta group means they’re keeping things small to test the features and safety. Because Clubhouse is only in beta testing, developers have made it invite-only for now to analyze a voice-only social media platform with thousands of users. The reason people talk about Clubhouse is because they think it makes them look cool and exclusive, but honestly, Clubhouse is as regular as any other social media app on the app store.
The mystery around Clubhouse forced me to think, would a highly-exclusive member-only app work? Coined as digital country clubs, these apps for the rich, famous, and well-connected describe an online secret society.
Rich Kids crowned itself the “world’s most exclusive social network” in 2016 with a $1,000 per month membership making it one of the most expensive apps on the market.
“And if it’s too much for you, then it’s not for you,”
-Juraj Ivan
Founders Juraj Ivan and Michal Harustiak were ‘inspired’ by Rich Kids of Instagram. The app is on a mission to “weed out the common folk” and help “the rich standout.” If you do not want to pay that $1000 a month, you can still see everything Rich Kids users post. The app is technically free and open to the public, but users must pay the 1000-dollar monthly fee to post their photos.
Raya is known as “Illuminati Tinder” Raya is a celebrity app for hookups. Raya members go from real celebrities to Instagram influencers, so if you have over 100k followers on IG, you may be able to cut the line of this exclusive club.
These apps are selling the dream of a sense of luxury, uniqueness, and mystery over those who are not on the platforms; however, Twitter and Instagram will suffice for the rest of us.
Daniel Omuto 