There’s a new app in town and if you’ve seen it mentioned online, you may be wondering “What is Clubhouse?”
Well it’s your lucky day because I’m here to explain everything you need to know about invite-only, mysterious new social media and how to use the Clubhouse app.
If you’re looking for a specific answer about how to use Clubhouse, skip to that section here:
Where Did Clubhouse Come From?
The app was founded by entrepreneur Paul Davison and ex-Google staff member Rohan Seth. Currently they have 9 employees, which is wild considering the speed at which they are growing too!
It was launched last year, with some early adopters including Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robins and Usher.
Gradually it has become more and more mainstream and accessible (through a referral-only approach) and it has seen rapid growth in the past 2 months, with over 10,000 new clubs being established last week alone.
If the stats and reviews are anything to go by, it isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
What Is Clubhouse?
Imagine 1000s of simultaneous conference calls (audio only) happening around the world on every topic under the sun.
From photography skills to social media and language learning to entrepreneurship. Then add in the presence of some of the biggest names in business, entertainment and social media. In one week, I’ve shared rooms with Tiffany Haddish, Paris Hilton and the Princess of Norway. I spoke directly to some incredibly talented YouTubers & Photographers with hundreds of thousands of followers… people who would never see a DM from me if I tried to connect with them.
But it’s not just about listening to celebrities and the heavy hitters of the industry. It’s also about connecting with people all around the world with a common interest to you.
Whether its living in a van, meditation, how to grow your Instagram following, other LGBTQ+ creators, learning German or anything in between. You can find a room or a club with people looking to talk about it too.
I spent 2 hours listening to a room with only 5 people in it, where women shared their stories of surviving abusive relationships, mastering motherhood and rebuilding themselves back up. It was beautiful.
Who Is Clubhouse For?
It’s a cliché answer but it really is for everyone. But to narrow it down a little, Clubhouse is for people who want to learn, grow and connect (and people with Iphones… for now!)
You don’t have to be an entrepreneur or influencer… but the space is generally focussed on learning from others, sharing your own experiences and connecting with others who have shared interests or life experiences to you.
Clubhouse is also global – which makes it an incredible way to build bridges, hear from others outside your own echo chamber and diversify your networks.
Do I Have To Talk?
Nope!
For the introverts among us, myself included, a voice-only app may sound like your idea of hell.
But you don’t have ´to ever unmute. Your default mode in the app is to be on mute, and if you never request to talk, you can just listen in to some very interesting conversations, no strings or obligations attached.
How To Use Clubhouse
Ok, so we’ve answered “What is Clubhouse” and if you’ve got this far, I imagine you’re thinking it’s possibly for you. So now the important bit – How Does Clubhouse Work?
It’s perhaps quite a long answer to share every detail, so let me try to break down how to use Clubhouse for you.
How To Get A Clubhouse Invite
Clubhouse is currently invite-only. Which means, you need someone already in the app to invite you in.
There are lots of ways to do this including Facebook groups that have cropped up exclusively for this purpose. But, be cautious of inviting in strangers. The app is built on trust and connection. Your account will always show who you invited in and if they breach guidelines (trolling, abuse etc) and get banned, you may be penalised for this too.
Whatever you do – don’t buy an invite! There are people out there taking advantage of the current popularity spike and making a quick buck off those wanting in. Be patient and it will happen the right way.
(Also – drop me a DM and I’ll see if I can help you out!)
How To Join Rooms
Once you’re a member of Clubhouse, the first screen that you’ll see in the app is known as “The Hallway”. This is where you can see a list of suggested rooms Clubhouse thinks you may be interested in based on the people you follow and the interests you ticked during signing up.
If any of the room titles sound interesting, just tap the room and you’ll be added to the audience and can listen in for as long as you’d like.
Top Tip: Before entering a room, the numbers displayed on the thumbnail indicates how many people are already in there, and how many are on stage talking. That way you know what to expect before going in.
How To Speak On Clubhouse
When you enter a room, you’ll automatically be placed in the audience and on mute. But if the conversation is interesting, you want to ask a question or get involved you can raise your hand to be on stage (unless the raise hand function has been disabled by a moderator).
Once invited “on stage” (into the top half of the screen), mute your mic until invited to speak. Standard Clubhouse etiquette is to work left to right, top to bottom through the speakers on stage.
In the above image:
- The peace emoji allows you the leave the room quietly.
- The high five allows you to raise your hand to speak.
- The + symbol is how you can add others to the room that you think would be interested.
- The mic is your “unmute” option if you’re a speaker or moderator.
What Are The Different Roles on Clubhouse?
As time of writing, there are 3 main roles you can have when you’re using Clubhouse.
- Moderator: This is the person controlling the conversation, setting the topic of conversation and ensuring everyone has a fair opportunity to speak. These users have a green symbol beside their name on stage. As a moderator you can mute people, accept people onto the stage and return them to the audience.
- Speaker: These are people who are “on stage” and have the ability to unmute and speak. They don’t have full admin powers though.
- Audience: This is everyone else who is on mute and listening to the conversation.
You can move between being a speaker and audience member within a room by raising your hand.
Who To Follow on Clubhouse
Whoever you like! But be cautious with your follows. Unlike other social media, your hallway is curated as a direct result of who you follow, so choose to follow speakers that you enjoy, or people who discuss topics you want to hear more about. Likewise, people may follow you if they enjoy what you have to say and want to hear more from you.
If you’re following my blog, you may be interested in following:
- Me (shameless plug!) All things Van Life, Travel & LGBTQ+ Life – @thejennaway
- GLT – The Girls LOVE Travel Club on Clubhouse is an epic place to meet womxn from all across the world who love to travel. If you are a member of their main GLT group you can find their Clubhouse subgroup community on Facebook here.
Understanding The Clubhouse Lingo
There’s a ton of Clubhouse language that becomes second nature once you get the hang of it. But it may be a little confusing at first. Let me help you out a little with a Clubhouse language guide:
Audience – This is everyone else who is on mute and listening to the conversation.
Clubs – Groups that you can follow / join to be notified of any rooms happening on that topic. (For example: Following the Girls Love Travel Club will notify you of any time a room is created by a GLT member to talk about travel)
Hallway – The main landing page of the app which shows suggested rooms that may be of interest to you.
Moderator – Essentially the admin of a room. This is the person controlling the conversation and ensuring everyone has a fair opportunity to speak. There can be more than one per room.
Party Hat -This emoji is on your user profile for the first 7 days to show people you’re a newbie.
PTR – This stands for Pull To Refresh, its the act of dragging your finger down on the screen and releasing. This will refresh the room and update with new suggestions.
Resetting The Room- As a moderator it’s good practice to ‘reset the room’ about 10 minutes after the start and then every 30 mins to an hour. This involves reintroducing the speakers & topic for anyone joining the room midway through and kkeps the conversation on track.
Rooms – The spaces in which people host conversations. Like mini conference calls.
Town Hall – This happens once a week on a Sunday at 5pm GNT. Its a room with the founders of the Clubhouse App where they will take questions and share updates coming soon.
More Questions?
Hopefully this covers the basics and will help you to get started with using Clubhouse. If you have more questions, or you think I missed anything important – drop me a message and I’m happy to help!
