28 February,2021 07:02 AM IST | Mumbai | Aastha Atray Banan
Musician Krishna Marathe, who isn’t comfortable being on video, says she uses Clubhouse to listen to conversations about bitcoins, and target musicians who want to learn about marketing their content. Pic/Shadab Khan
The other day, I was in a room of people discussing personal finance, and Zerodha founder Nitin Kamath was a guest. Now, I know that he is super candid and I have read and watched his interviews, but to hear him live talking about money, and to get to ask him a question, was amazing," says Nikhil Jois. The entrepreneur and techie is currently working on a start up, and was until last year the co-founder of Eventosaur, before he sold it.
Jois wasn't at a TED talk or a literary festival. He was at home, on his phone, logged on to the new app, Clubhouse. Only available to iPhone users for now, Clubhouse is exactly how it sounds - an exclusive, invite-only, voice-only social platform, where members are having exciting, useful and intellectual conversations. It has managed to move the venue from treehouses and dingy basements to the phone.
It all started in 2020, when founders Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth, who have stayed out of press, started Alpha Exploration Co, the parent company of the app. In January, it was valued at 1 billion dollars, and its base is slowly growing, as it appears to be courting influencers. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, MC Hammer, Elon Musk, Drake, and Ashton Kutcher have been using it.
How does it work: Well, think of it as a giant aggregator of podcasts, and curated conversations. You can go into a conversation of your choice and leave as and when you like. As soon as you enter a "room", the audio starts to play, and you can listen to people sharing their experiences and expert opinions. When this writer logged in, because she had got an invite, she saw and hovered around conversations such as Atomic habits for high performers, Career coffee: Climbing the corporate ladder, Instagram Growth, and Which car to buy in Goa. "It's like a literary festival for nerds. So many magical connections can happen over good conversation. It's like what Twitter used to be," says Jois.
What's most interesting about Clubhouse is that it's pushing the audio content revolution that seems to be sweeping the globe. Podcasts have come into their own in the past two years, and Spotify and Audible can be considered to be at the top of that pyramid. Podcaster and cofounder of storytelling platform Kommune, Roshan Abbas, tells us that he got on to Clubhouse last November when Shreyas Srinivasan, founder and CEO of PayTM Insider, sent him an invite. "You can dip in and out of social conversations. The other day, I chanced upon a conversation where people were singing - it was a ghazal evening. It's all about telling good stories, in the best way you can. It will give rise to a new generation of moderators." Abbas has also seen some positive changes since it started - like a notification which points out hecklers. "It will help creators build a live audience. And you can take these fans to any platform you are on. It's also a great place to test your ideas - what people like and are not interested in."
Abbas is right. Creators and influencers who are already building their brands on other social platforms are using Clubhouse to build their rooms of quality content. The fact that they don't have to bother with anything else - like how they look, and what they are wearing - makes life easier. That's why musician and techie Krishna Marathe loves it. "I was not comfy with reels on Instagram, and did it out of peer pressure. Audio-only is where I feel most articulate, confident and expressive. It's hassle free. No lights, no camera, no need to look good - just plug in and talk. I also sell domain names, and I connected with people, and sold two domain names in the first month that I was on," says the 40-year-old, who has been hosting rooms on "marketing for musicians".
There are obviously some drawbacks too. As social media creator and talk show host Janice Sequeira says, "You can't hide behind cool pictures and curated text. It's about what you want to say. The other day, a room that was about modern day dating, went on for four hours. But there is fatigue, and sometimes it becomes a chore, especially if you are curating the long sessions." Sequeira has done a room on freelancers and the issues they face, She also hosted a room with Bhavna Pandey, wife to Bollywood actor Chunkey Pandey, who tasted success with The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. A lot of listeners tuned in just to ask Pandey about the scripting of the show. But Sequeira brings up an important problem that the founders are looking into, we hear. How will creators make money on the platform? "I won't commit hours to it in a day unless it monetises my time. I am an early mover, and I want to know how Clubhouse will help me expand my reach and be useful for work. If not, then it's a way to relax and have some fun, that's all."
