At the end of January, a new phenomenon appeared on the Czech internet – voice-based social network Clubhouse. The Czech media, entrepreneurs, and influencers began to give out a lot of information about the social network and within a few days, the Clubhouse app became the most downloaded in the App Store. The new American app is invite-only and almost everyone wants to be on it.
So – what it is and who’s behind it?
The app originated from the famous Silicon Valley and it was launched in early 2020 by company Alpha Exploration Co. In the early days, it was an incredibly small community of people in the US, but the app quickly became popular and worth $100 million.
You can’t share any photo or video content on the platform – it’s voice-only and it kind of feels like listening to a podcast, but you can step in and join the conversation. You can start your room and discuss anything you want or you can join someone else’s room and interact with their content.
In January 2021 it finally reached Czechia and the biggest hype first began to spread in the community of entrepreneurs, marketers, and journalists. Everyone wanted to be in and the big FOMO (=fear of missing out) appeared all over the Czech internet, because of the lack of invites to the app.
Hana Fořtová, a founder of sustainable brand Frusack, says she was lucky to be one of the first people on the app. “It all just happened so fast. All of a sudden I have this app on my phone, trying to figure out what I’ve just downloaded while being pressured by our friends to hurry and join the room”.
But is it really worth it? Let’s find out.
FOMO and no productivity
We’ve already mentioned this term earlier. Fear of missing out is one of the most dangerous things, you’ll discover as a new user of the app. Even after successful registration and getting an invitation from a friend who’s already in the app, you might find yourself thinking about all the things you’re missing out on. You’ll simply want to be online all the time because you might miss a really interesting conversation between your favorite entrepreneurs or people you adore.
New users are joining every day and some of the senior ones are sobering from the hype. Hana and her husband Milan Fořt are founders of the biggest daily Clubhouse event in Czechia Lunchtalks. They’ve started their first room on the second day on the app because they wanted to try it like everyone else.
“Later on I finally get to know what this Clubhouse is all about and I find myself amazed. Is this the new Facebook-style sensation? Meanwhile, all the other social media start to get alive with the news and hunt for invites. Everyone wants to be on Clubhouse, unexpected FOMO pandemics strikes hard – both, the people outside and inside the app.
This kind of madness is long gone. Some users used to spend more than 12 hours on Clubhouse over the first week to keep up or maybe get followers. Talking about stuff just to talk about stuff is no longer a thing, everyone started to select topics and hosts they are interested in.”, says Hana Fořtová.
Lots of content
Every social network has a lot of different communities that are producing their special type of content. You can find yourself procrastinating in meaningless conversations with people that aren’t adding any value to your life.
On the other hand – there is plenty of marketing, entrepreneurship, and startup-related rooms in which you can talk with interesting people. You can share know-how, inspiration, and tips&tricks with professionals from your industry and self-educate yourself in new fields.
It’s all about good time management and joining only the conversations that are exciting and important to you.
“If you want to, Clubhouse is a place to develop yourself, but if you’re looking for fun, you’ll find it there too. I’m personally often struck with a lot of irrelevant content. You just have to direct the algorithm a little more and only follow people which are interesting to you in a professional or personal way.”, says Václav Blahout – also one of the early birds to the social network and social media specialist.
If you´re interested in the world of startups and business, Startup Disrupt is starting Clubhouse series Czech Startup Leaders in which we’ll cover discussions with some of the best startup founders and entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic. Join us here!
Clubhouse is a rising star and it brings an opportunity to network in the global pandemics. It has its pros and cons. The app is changing every day and the growth of new users is exponential. So, what do you think? Is it still worth joining? Share your opinion with us.