Clubhouse (CH) the latest number one app, topping IOS billboards and now valued at over $1billion without any revenue stream, is setting the standard for voice interaction. In a nutshell Clubhouse is proving that voice is king!
Guests high and low report how liberating Clubhouse is. Clubhouse gives you freedom; without having to stare at a screen all day, or be mindful of; what you wear, how you look, your surroundings or the need to retain 100% attentiveness (or at least look like it). In fact many Clubhouse users will use the platform while doing other things, from work, to cooking, cycling and jogging to looking after children. Yours truly has swapped out music for Clubhouse on his daily runs, popular CH moderator Samantha Brown was cooking breakfast while offering top tips this morning, and MC Hammer was driving while giving his advice. All in all it is a far more relaxed atmosphere than anything Video calls can offer whilst still retaining an air of professionalism.
Clubhouse is finding many new and novel uses from its original inception. ‘Spectacular Smith’ from The Power Circle is using the format to allow guest users to vote on Speakers input, ‘Howard Stern’ has turned his clubhouse room into his Chat Show, we are opening a room for any colleagues to jump in and out of when they like just like hanging out around the cooler, and we actually moved one of our Team Meetings from Zoom to Clubhouse with extraordinary success – in a nutshell, there was way more energy and interaction in the room than anything we ever imagined.
My take on why so many Celebrities and A’listers like Paris Hilton, MC Hamer or Tony Hawk are happy to participate on CH is that they all all feel safe on the platform. In reality they are ‘shielded’ from many of the judgmental aspects of Video Calling – just using ones Voice and not being distracted by visual considerations is in my opinion the magic sauce in Clubhouse. In fact it is the magic sauce in any conversation whether, face to face or on the telephone, it is the fact that the voice is the focus of attention and not the way a person looks.
I personally get exhausted when on Video Calls, I find them stifling, subdued, and energy draining, all negative aspects – Just setting myself up for a video call is time consuming and stressful and it is interesting to see so many people are now closing off their video altogether. I have no need to see the other person in real time and for me outside of family a Video Call should be limited to only when Screen Sharing is required.
Video calls are difficult to arrange, sometimes complicated to get into or start whereas a phone call is simple and instant.
I had the pleasure of visiting one of Spain’s largest Communication Hubs this week. It hosts communication networks equipment for the largest companies including Telefonica, Movistar, Vodafone, Colt and so on. What was staggering was that during 2020 the hub needed to increase capacity 400% to cater for the increased demand of Voice services – in a nutshell we ARE speaking more!
Voice is KING! It is a topic I have been passionate about for many years, and have written many articles towards (https://conxhub.com/voice-the-next-big-thing/). There are so many aspects to voice, the language you use, the words, the emphasis, the tone , the tempo… it is one of the most powerful tools a person has in their armoury.
Clubhouse is emphasising the importance and simplicity of Voice – many users like Elliot Browne are commenting on how Voice is King and just having the freedom to stand up or move around is so important. Being stuck at your desk hour in, hour out is bad for your health so as we say at ConXhub: PUFF – just Pick Up the Flippin Fone 🙂
