Clubhouse won over Elon Musk, now its conquering the world – HT Tech

This is awesome. I didnt even know it existed a week ago. Thats how a lot of people are reacting to Clubhouse, the social-media startup thats becoming asensation. Except in this case, the new fan was Elon Musk, who had just made his first appearance on the app, a voice-and-audio driven platform that lets people hold live discussionsbased on any number of topics and interests, with thousands sometimes in attendance. Musk was aJan. 31 gueston Good Time,a talk showco-led by a panel of venture capitalists and a Facebook Inc. tech executive.Days later, Facebook Chief Executive OfficerMark Zuckerbergmade a surprise appearance on the same program.Last month, I wrote abouthow Clubhousewas poised to become the next big social media powerhouse, citing the doubling of its weekly active user base to 2 million over a couple of weeks in January asa sign of its booming popularity.This latest wave of influential new users fromtechnology titans such as Musk and Zuckerberg topolitical figures and leaders in entertainment is driving another wave of exponential growth for Clubhouse, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

On Sunday, co-founder Paul Davison said the service reached 10 million weekly active users, which means its user base has blossomed fivefoldin a month. These numbers are all the more impressive given that the app still requires an invitation from a current user and is available only on iPhones (an Android version is planned).Davison alsonoted that overseas markets were key contributors in the companyslatest surge, with the app rocketing to the top of the App Store charts in dozens of countries. There may be profound implications.

According to mobile-app analytics research firm App Annie, Clubhouse reached No. 1atApple Inc.s App Store in more than 30 countries this year, meaning it is now a more popular download than Instagram, TikTok, Zoom or WhatsApp in those markets. It is not just one geography either: Clubhouse is doing well across cultures, be it South Korea and Japan orGermany and Italy.

What is most striking is Clubhouses success in areas with more autocratic governments across the Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. This may be an important development as it shows the tremendous thirst for open audio-based social conversation inside more authoritarian countries. In recent weeks, I have spoken withseveral users based in the Middle East. They were all extremely curious abouthow the rest of the world works while also extollingthe vibrancy of Clubhouse discussion rooms in their respective countries. One person in Saudi Arabia said there were hundreds of rooms some with thousands of participants talking about political and social issues. These kinds of live gatherings would be difficult if not impossible to hold in person.

The intimacy and back-and-forth nature of the voice-based mediumon Clubhouse may be a game-changer for political discourse. The one-on-one audio conversations fostered by the platform encouragerelationship-building in a way that text-based social networks such as Twitter and Facebook cant. And because there are no official records after discussions end, it will be more difficult for authorities to curb or censor specific topics.That may lead toeasier mobilization and coordination of new movements. In this way, its even possible that Clubhouse may finally help fulfill the promise of the Arab Spring demonstrations from a decade ago.

Thatpotential hasnt gone unnoticed. Earlier this month, users based in China noticed they could not access the service without using workarounds such asvirtual private networks to get around the countrys firewall. It suggests Chinahas decided to block access to Clubhouse.But asmy colleague Tim Culpan wrote, the generallycordial political discussion and sharing of viewpoints amongthousands of Chinese-speaking people around the world for a few weeks exemplified the best of what the platform could be.While similar restrictions may spring up elsewhere, Isuspect manycountries that allow Facebook and Twitter will keep the doors open for Clubhouse because of its rising popularity.

Clubhouses recent success does bring its own set of difficulties, includinggrowing pains as it builds outits infrastructure to serve its rapidly growing user base. Over the past week, the app frequently has become glitchy and unresponsive nearly every day.Davison has said the company hasslowed the development ofnew features to focus on keeping the service running and hiring new staff. And it is only a matter of time before Clubhouse will face serious trust and safety problems as it deals with the rising tide of charlatans and bad actorswho mayincreasingly try to inhabitthe platform.

I am optimistic that Clubhouse will become a platformof choice for healthier conversations compared withother social media platforms. The main problem with the traditional players such asFacebook and Twitter is that their advertising-focused business models incentivize the worst types of content. Because they generate more revenue from increased page views and ad impressions, they are more likely to turn a blind eye toconspiracy theories, harassment and misinformation that drive the most engagement on their platforms.Further, binary angry rants on Twitter and Facebook tend to getamplified over nuanced substantive discussions.

Clubhouse, on the other hand, is targeting a different model. From the beginning, the co-founders have said they wontpursue advertisingto generate revenue because it mightlower the quality of conversation and lead to bad behavior. Instead, the startup plans to pursue a transactional model whereusers can pay speakers directly through tipping, subscriptionsand event ticketing. Its the right move.

Many corners of the social-media world are toxic, especially wherepeople are able to fire off broadsides anonymously from behind their screens.But people tend to interact more politely in live conversation; Clubhouse may turn out to be the perfect antidote to the contentious climate. The startups game plan may be good for business, too. With its stunning emergence this year, Clubhouse has already become the biggest U.S. social-mediasuccess story in nine years after the Instagram, Twitter Inc. and Snap Inc. era. Theonly other new app to rival its recent ascendance is ByteDanceLtd.s TikTok which, notably,is alsoknown for its feel-good vibes. Clubhouse may surpass its U.S.-based peers over the next few years if it can truly perfect a better collegial environment on the internet.

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Clubhouse won over Elon Musk, now its conquering the world - HT Tech