How does Clubhouse work?

 

How does Clubhouse work?

To join, users must be invited by an existing member. Each new sign-up can invite two new members to join. If you are invited, you receive a link texted to your mobile phone, which allows you to download the app. Clubhouse offers a waiting list, so if you don’t know an existing member, you can join the waiting list by downloading the app.

Once you’ve joined Clubhouse, you can create a bio and add a profile picture in a similar way to other social networking apps. You can also select your areas of interest, and the more information you give the app, the more recommendations it makes about individuals to follow or conversation rooms to join. There’s also an in-app calendar that allows you to see when rooms are active, enabling users to plan which conversations to join.

The app is primarily about listening. Users join conversation rooms that reflect their interests. By default, all users are muted, so you listen to the room’s administrator and speakers. If you want to speak, you can ‘raise your hand’ and, if the administrator allows, you can join the conversation.

You can also set up a conversation room of your own, which can be made public or private. This enables you to build a following of your own based on your interests or hold conversations with like-minded others.

Currently, only 5,000 people are allowed per conversation room – although, when Elon Musk gave a talk, this limit was raised, and fans also live-streamed his conversation on other Clubhouse rooms and via YouTube.

Conversation rooms come and go as people launch or end them. Clubhouse says it records conversations as they happen but only retains the recordings if someone files a complaint while the room is live. If no one reports an incident during the chat, Clubhouse says it discards the recording as soon as the host closes the discussion. However, users have found ways to record chats for their own purposes.