Clubhouse is an app that is like a podcast but anyone can talk. It’s currently just for iPhone and invite-only.

The easiest way to describe it is that it’s a conference with a person speaking and you can raise your hand to speak.

I’m seeing more brands joining and can see the potential for museums and art galleries to being part of this platform for Q&A’s and talks. However, this is name-based app and currently brand names are discouraged. You can set up a club as a brand but it will always be tied to the person who started it and their phone number.

Some things I’ve learned in the last 2 days from being on there

Invitation

• To send an invite, click on the envelope. This will open a new screen with your phone contacts. Find the name of the person you want to send an invite to and click Invite.
• The invite is sent via iMessage so the person has to be in your phone contacts
• If your nominated invitee gets blocked or reported, they can also kick you off so be cautious with who you share invite with

Main Screen: This is the first screen you see when you enter Clubhouse. This is also referred to as the hallway or entrance hall.

• Magnifying glass: search for people, rooms, or clubs.
• Calendar: Rooms/Clubs that you requested to be reminded of and other ones you might be interested in
• Bell: Notifications of talks, people who joined you might know, etc
• Profile: Your profile can be taken from Twitter or Instagram
• From the hallway swipe left to hide a room – so it does’t clutter the hallway. From hallway slide right to see where your friends (followers) are if they are online or in a room.

Rooms/Club: Anyone can start a room by clicking Start A Room.

• Open: Starts a Room open to everyone – regardless if they follow you or not
• Social: Starts a Room with people you follow (eg they can see the room but general public can’t get in)
• Closed: Starts a Room with only people you choose

Clubs:

You have to have run a few rooms in order to apply for a club. You can apply for a club via this link.

• They limit each user to creating 2 clubs
• Prioritizing clubs for people who have already hosted a weekly show 3 times.

Room/Club Screen:

• When you enter a room or a club, you’re automatically muted.
• If you want to join in a conversation, you have to raise your hand (bottom right-hand corner in a room/club). This notifies the moderator and they can let you choose to let you speak. If you have raised your hand and been brought to the “stage” your microphone is NOT automatically muted.
• The + is to ping or nudge people you follow to join the room/club.
• Leave quietly exits the room/club

Other things learned

• You do not have to stay on the app to listen, it will play in the background
• “PTR” is pull to refresh. People change their profile photo often – it is one way of sending a message without speaking.
• The room chat seems to last as long as needed and clubs seem to be for a time period, usually, an hour but some have been 15 minutes.
• Every room/club is recorded
• You can not send a private message
• Unsure of the ethics behind this app but like every free app, there will be issues.

So far I’m really enjoying listening and taking part. It’s much better than zoom no video which with my internet helps.

Thanks to Dr Lucy Rogers for helping with this blog!