Clubhouse (app) facts for kids
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Screenshot of Clubhouse version 1.0.5 on Android (August 2021)
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| Developer(s) | Alpha Exploration Co. | ||||
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| Initial release | March 2020 | ||||
| Stable release(s) [±] | |||||
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| Written in | Python Django NextJS |
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| Available in | English | ||||
| Type | Voice over IP (VoIP) | ||||
| License | Freeware | ||||
Clubhouse is a special app for your phone that lets you listen to and join live audio conversations. Think of it like a live podcast where you can also speak! It works on both iOS (like iPhones) and Android phones.
Clubhouse became so popular that other big companies like Meta (who own Facebook), Twitter, and Spotify created their own similar audio features.
Contents
How Clubhouse Started
Clubhouse began as a new company idea by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth in late 2019. It was first meant for podcasts and called "Talkshow." But then they changed it to "Clubhouse" and launched it for iPhones in March 2020.
The app quickly became very popular during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. By December 2020, it had 600,000 users. In January 2021, the CEO, Paul Davison, said about 2 million people were using the app every week. The company then started working on an Android version.
In early 2021, the app grew even faster because famous people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used it. At first, you needed an invitation to join Clubhouse, and some people even sold these invites online! A year after it launched, over 10 million people were using it weekly.
In April 2021, Clubhouse added a way for users to send money to their favorite content creators, working with a company called Stripe. Later that month, Twitter even talked about buying Clubhouse, but it didn't happen. Clubhouse also teamed up with the National Football League (NFL) for special audio content.
Finally, in May 2021, Clubhouse launched its Android app in the US, and soon after, it was available worldwide for Android users. In July 2021, Clubhouse partnered with TED for exclusive talks. They also removed the invitation system, making it easier for everyone to join, though new users might still join a waitlist.
In April 2023, the company made some changes and reduced its staff. This was part of adjusting to how the world changed after the pandemic.
Cool Things You Can Do on Clubhouse
Clubhouse has many features that make it a unique place for audio conversations.
Rooms: Live Audio Chats
The main part of Clubhouse is joining live "rooms" where people talk using only their voices. Rooms can be:
- Open rooms: Anyone can join.
- Social rooms: Only people followed by the room's leaders can join.
- Closed rooms: You need a special invite from the leaders to join.
Inside a room, you'll see three groups: the "stage" (where speakers are), "followed by the speakers" (people the speakers follow), and "others in the room" (listeners). When someone creates a room, they become a "moderator." Moderators can invite people to speak, mute them, or remove them. Listeners can "raise their hand" if they want to speak, and a moderator can then invite them to the stage. You can leave a room quietly by tapping a button.
In August 2022, Clubhouse added "Houses," which are like private, invite-only versions of rooms.
Events: Scheduled Talks
While many conversations happen spontaneously, you can also schedule talks by creating "events." You choose a name, date, and time for your event. You can also add co-hosts to help you. Once created, the event appears on the Clubhouse "bulletin," which shows upcoming talks. You can set reminders for events you want to join.
Clubs are like groups for people who share a common interest and want to talk about it regularly. There are many clubs on Clubhouse for all sorts of topics. Clubs have different types of members:
- Admin: Can change club settings, add/remove users, and schedule any type of room.
- Leader: Can create or schedule public rooms for the club.
- Member: Can create private rooms and invite others to the club.
Clubs can be "Open" (anyone can join), "By Approval" (you apply and wait to be accepted), or "Closed" (only admins can invite members). When a public room is created in a club, all club members get a notification.
Backchannel: Text Messaging
"Backchannel" is Clubhouse's messaging feature. It lets you send text messages to individual users or groups. This was a big change because, before this, Clubhouse was only about voice! It launched in July 2021.
Explore: Find New Conversations
The Clubhouse homepage shows you ongoing chat rooms that are recommended for you based on who you follow. If you tap the magnifying glass icon, you go to the "explore" page. Here, you can search for people and clubs, and find conversations grouped by different topics.
Clubhouse Payments: Support Creators
This feature lets you send money directly to content creators on the app. If a creator has this turned on, you can tap their profile, press "Send Money," and enter the amount. The creator gets the full amount, and you only pay a small fee for the payment processing.
Creator First: Helping Creators Grow
Clubhouse Creator First is a program designed to help people who create content on Clubhouse. It helps them get more listeners and earn money from their content.
Icon: A Changing Face
The Clubhouse app icon is special because it regularly changes! It's usually a grayscale picture of a social leader or a user from the platform. Most apps have a fixed icon, but Clubhouse likes to feature different people.
Wave: Quick Chats
The "Wave" feature lets you quickly let your friends know you're free for a private audio chat. It's a way to have more spontaneous and personal conversations.
This feature allows creators to record entire conversations or short 30-second clips. These recordings can then be shared outside the app, which helps more people discover Clubhouse.
Where You Can Use Clubhouse
The Clubhouse app is available for both Android and iOS phones. You can download it from your phone's app store. For Android, you need Android 7 or newer. For iOS, you need iOS 13 or newer.
There's also a free app called Clubdeck for Mac and Windows computers, made by other developers. It offers some extra features not found in the official Clubhouse app.
How Clubhouse Works Behind the Scenes
The Clubhouse app is built using different computer languages. The Android app uses Kotlin, and the iOS app uses React Native. The parts of the app that handle all the data and make things work (the "backend") are written in Python and Django.
How Clubhouse Makes Money
Right now, Clubhouse mainly uses money from its investors to operate. But the company plans to make money in the future through things like:
- Tips: Users sending money to creators.
- Paid events: Charging for access to certain talks.
- Subscriptions: Users paying a regular fee for special content.
- Brand partnerships: Connecting creators with companies for sponsorships.
Clubhouse has many competitors, which are other social audio apps like Discord Stage Channels, Facebook Live Audio Rooms, Reddit Talk, Slack Huddles, Spotify Greenroom, Telegram Voice Chats, and Twitter Spaces.
See also
- Spoon Radio
- Zello
