Who took over Clubhouse? Audio-only social network explodes during pandemic

After the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Covid-19 was officially a pandemic in March 2020, The world has turned more towards distance communication. Social networks have become stronger in terms of reach, and new ideas have emerged to meet this new demand.

One of the services created during the quarantine was Clubhouse. The app was a form of group voice communication and within a few months it became one of the hottest topics in technology.

The offer of access and initial exclusivity seemed to be the recipe for success and was, to some extent, a phenomenon. Despite, Its decline was as rapid as its rise – Nowadays it is difficult to find someone who knows the current state of the service.

So what happened to this practice? In a competitive and dynamic market like digital platforms, you need to have more than a good idea to stay relevant. Follow to learn more!

Clubhouse: The platform opened first to VIPs, then to the world

Clubhouse launched as an iOS app in March 2020. The startup, created by entrepreneurs Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, existed months ago.

Davison was a Silicon Valley veteran who already had a company sold to Pinterest. The duo’s first idea was to launch a podcast service under the name Talkshow.but plans changed.

The operation of the clubhouse is based on rooms named after the subject or the name of the person in charge. The communication was: voice only and speaking is optional only: If you want, the user can just stay as a spectator and listen to others.

The lines were arranged with a raised hand button, which also became the app’s logo. The room moderator controlled the flow and allowed those who were interested.

The Clubhouse app was initially free to download and use, with no monetization required. But your access was based on a privilege factor: You can only create an account on the service if you have received an invitation from someone already registered.

At its peak, Clubouse had a market capitalization of $2 billion at the beginning of 2021. It also recorded almost 2 million active users, as well as surpassing 9.5 million downloads on mobile digital stores.

The application, which brings together content creators and unknown people, has also started to be used by celebrities from time to time. Even tech names like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk were hosts or participants in conversations on the app years before they acquired Twitter.

Clubhouse’s rapid decline after the pandemic

As the months passed, Clubhouse began to lose its popularity. In addition to becoming less and less visible in the press, the service also began to record declines in users and downloads. Besides, the service has come under criticism for its small number of functions and lack of oversightamong other problems.

Delay in performing important functions was seen as one of the reasons for its collapse. For example, Clubhouse only got an Android app in May 2021 and then discontinued its invitation system.

It also took some time to start monetizing users (via “tips” to those joining the rooms) and allowing conversations to be recorded or replayed locally.

In the same year of 2021, Twitter copied voice chat room format to Spaces — a relatively successful function that still exists on the platform today. Young viewers or players preferred to meet via Discord.

Another detrimental factor for the business world was the pandemic situation. The gradual return to face-to-face interaction, the advent of the vaccine and the easing of social distancing have further reduced access.

The public itself was already going through a period of fatigue with voice or video conversations, and this also affected services such as Zoom. Downloads fell by half in the first half of 2022, and the number of rooms maintained daily also dropped.

Does the Clubhouse still exist?

Clubhouse app It still works and works, but it’s very different today. from the original service.

Last year the situation changed radically. In April 2023, the company laid off half of its employees to streamline operations. He was released before a function called “Houses” that limits chats to closed groups of friends.

He made his presentation in September “new Clubhouse”. The app is now a messaging service with social tools so you can communicate with your contacts or discover new friendships.

Voice chats are still the main functionality of the app, but conversations are now asynchronous; Just like WhatsApp, participants can send voice messages and they can be heard when the other person is available.

The platform has even given way to text messaging, but in a different way: you type the content you want to send, and an app feature using artificial intelligence converts it into audio for a customized voice that sounds like yours.

Moreover, it now works with the slogan “”.friends rather than followers” (“friends above followers”), positioning the app as a way to value close contacts – rather than just getting engaged.

However bold, attempts to change Clubhouse’s image and strategy are unlikely to bring it back to the popularity it enjoyed at the beginning of its existence.

So, did you use the application during our quarantine due to Covid-19? Check out TecMundo for more nostalgic articles like this. Take the opportunity to understand what ICQ is all about. Until next time!