I miss coffee shops. I miss coworking. I miss traveling and industry meetups and the opportunities to connect and make new art and creative industry friends.
Clubhouse has filled a significant gap in connections that we’ve been craving this past year. It is changing the game for speakers, conferences, Q&As, and dare I say it, podcasts and talk radio?
Before Covid (BC), there were plenty of ways to connect in person. Conventions. Comicons. TED Talks. You could enter a large space full of people, sit down, and listen to industry leaders speak on their areas of expertise. You could go to a Q&A with your favorite author or comic book artist and have a chance to stand up and ask them a question.
I particularly loved New York Comicon (and smaller regional pop culture) conventions, getting to sit and listen to voice actors, screen actors, artists and writers shoot the shit about their work and whatever else might come up in a panel.
The Clubhouse app has removed prohibitive factors such as cost, and the need to travel and be in person, to bring conversations in real time to your ears. It’s accessible. It’s on your phone.
Listen while you work. Listen while you cook dinner. Listen in the shower or while running errands. Hop into the conversation if you want to and the room moderator brings you up to chat.
It’s a fairly simple in concept. No pushing visual content. No “likes” or comments. When a conversation is done, it’s done. No replays.
All the things that make other social media and networking feel like a popularity branding contest, Clubhouse leaves at the door. Come as you are. Stay for a minute, or stay for the whole chat.
It’s still new and exciting.
I joined just after the new year, and honestly, I’m still getting my feet wet, so this is very much a newbie perspective. I’m not sure how long Clubhouse has been around, but it is still “new”.
I have not participated, as a speaker, but who knows, maybe today will be the day I rip off that bandaid! For now, I’m enjoying listening and finding new people I want to follow and hear more from.
Here is what I’m loving so far, and why I think Clubhouse is going to be the next big thing (if it isn’t already) for networking, education, and entertainment.
Anyone can speak on Clubhouse.
The general idea and function of Clubhouse, is that anyone can create a “room”, and just start talking. Any subject. Any length of time. And the host or moderator can invite anyone (usually a friend or contact) to be additional speakers to join in the active conversation.
You don’t have to be a headliner. You don’t have to be “famous”. You can create a room, solo or with a friend, and just chat about anything. You can also schedule rooms and conversations based on more specific topics, which users can either set reminders for, or pop in anytime. which leads me to…
I have seen rooms scheduled for topics such as Artists Chat, Social Media Q&A, Photographers Using Pinterest, Overcoming Creative Blocks, Mindfulness, and Women in the Arts.
There’s no limit to topics, and people are using the app to learn, teach, connect, chat, and have conversations that range from incredibly serious and in depth, to light and casual.
Anyone can listen on Clubhouse.
Here’s the catch. Anyone can enter your room and listen to your conversation. At first, I thought of this a bit strange, like eavesdropping. And who knows, maybe that’s part of the fun! It’s also kind of comforting to find a room that looks interesting (because of the topic or the speaker), and just pop in and listen.
I have joined rooms where I am one of 5 people listening, and I’ve been in rooms where there are thousands. And even though we are all going about our days, listening while working, making dinner, driving, painting…you get the sense that you’re connected, due to the live, raw nature of the conversations. No editing, no frills.
What happens when you enter a Clubhouse room?
There is no video. You are not watching people talk. You simply listen.
When you enter a room, you’ll see a small icon picture at the top, letting you know who is speaking. The host of the room controls who is invited to speak, and they can be brought up into the “onstage” queue. It’s good etiquette to mute yourself to keep the audio clear.
As a listener, you can touch a button to virtually “raise your hand” for a chance to be selected to speak.
You can browse the room and see who’s speaking and listening. When you touch a speaker or listener’s profile picture, it brings you to their profile, and you can learn more about them and decide if you want to follow them.
Other speakers or listeners in the room may be checking out your profile, so if you’re in there to connect and network, make sure you clearly state wheat you do in your profile, include info and links to your website and other channels.
Entering and Leaving a Clubhouse Room
There aren’t any notifications when you enter or leave a room. These rooms are kind of like ducking in and out of rooms at a party, a coffee shop or a conference. Some rooms may have a louder, “crowded” energy. Some may feel more intimate. But there isn’t any sort of “Shannon has entered the room.” There are no departure announcements.
There is a button to “Leave quietly” which will exit you from a room. Otherwise, you can browse the app or swipe out to do other things and still remain in the room, listening. I have been in rooms where they’re checking out people’s Instagram accounts or Pinterest boards while giving audits or branding advice during a Q&A style chat. You can be listening while “on your phone”, or you can choose to leave a room.
Networking and Connecting on Clubhouse
If you see rooms and topics scheduled that you’re interested in, you can select to get a “ping” notification, so you can get in at the beginning of the conversation. This is great if it’s a Q&A or conversation that you might want a chance at being brought up on the stage for a question or to chat.
I love how easily you can pop over to someone’s profile if they have something interesting to say, or they are local to you, or you want to hear more from them.
Once you follow someone, you can see when they are scheduling rooms, in case you find that you’re learning a lot or enjoy their personality or expertise.
It’s also just really cool that you can browse the faces of everyone in the room and learn a bit more about anyone. When you’re in person at a conference, you’re in a room with hundreds or thousands, but you have no idea who you are there with. In Clubhouse, you’re able to create connections in so many different ways.
Creating a Clubhouse Profile to Connect and Network
Like most social platforms, you’ll want a good clear photo of yourself, your logo, or some other branded image. The profile images are pretty small, so if you’re using a photo of yourself, pic one that’s a bit closeup and tight around your face.
The first line or two of your profile will be visible when people are searching and browsing, so consider that your prime real estate to let people know who you are, what you do, and geographical location if that’s important to your business or brand. Or you can keep it simple.
From there, you can go deeper into your work. I have seen people include a quick bio or hook letting people know who and how they serve. You can plug your podcast, YouTube channel, list some highlights, places you’ve been featured.
Or you can keep it chill! Whatever your goal is in using Clubhouse, you have a lot of room in your profile to share a lot of information.
Clubhouse also has you connect your Instagram and Twitter so those are clickable at the bottom of your profile.
Making Social and Connections during Covid
I think a lot of us are really missing making connections, and Clubhouse has created opportunities to find new ways to connect, even when going about our days at home, working at home, commuting, waiting in the pickup line at school.
Even as an introvert, I am enjoying the opportunities to listen and learn.
I think Clubhouse fulfills a lot of desire for social connection, like finding new people in your industry or interests to discuss ideas for Pinterest boards or geek out over the latest WandaVision episodes. Some rooms present kind of like talk radio and podcasts, in the back and forth conversations and banter style.
There’s a lot of freedom, and you can use it and make of it whatever you want. One style of room I’ve enjoyed is the longer form rooms where it’s open flowing conversation, loosely around art, creativity, photography, and letting the conversation go…wherever! Some rooms are for meditation and mindfulness practice. Some are for virtual coworking.
Apart, but connected.
Safety and Accessibility
Again, I’m fairly new to this, but I’ve noticed a couple things come up in the past week that I want to note.
For anyone with vision impairment, I have noticed certain moderators encouraging speakers to give a quick description of what they look like in their profile picture, like an alt description, and this also helps for users who have their country’s flag graphic since rooms are not limited by country.
In regards to safety, use discretion in your conversations. You want to try to stay mindful, in your conversations, to keep personal, private information to yourself, since anyone could listen in. What this means to me is: not talking about your address, where you go to work or hang out, names of kids or where they go to school, names of clients…
It sounds like people feel very comfortable getting into conversations and quickly getting kind of personal, but you also want to remember that you just never know who might be lurking, like everywhere else on the internet, and safety is most important.
Most rooms set “house rules” and give reminders on etiquette and make sure everyone knows and feels comfortable. It’s a good idea to introduce yourself before you begin speaking.
Are You On Clubhouse?
Do you like it? Hate it? Think it’s awesome or weird? I want to hear what you think!
At the time of writing this post, you do need to get an invite from an iPhone to iPhone personal contact to get on the platform. Once you’re in, you get invites to bring in more friends and contacts.
I think Clubhouse is going to stick around and continue to grow. It might change the way people decide to host podcast style shows. I can see it becoming the go to platform for education, business and community growth.
If you’re on Clubhouse, you can find me @shannonsorensen. I’d love to connect on there, and maybe, just maybe…we can chat?
Shannon Sorensen is a Connecticut artist, photographer, and creative branding and marketing specialist.