Hype, rooms and invitations: why Clubhouse app is losing the game
After more than a year of existing Clubhouse changed its logo and renounced its invitation system. Seems like developers want their project to reborn – or at least gain some new active users. But, since Clubhouse app is no longer popular enough, are these changes worth it?
But first – the numbers
Visually the popularity of Clubhouse app looks like a rollercoaster ride. Founded in April 2020, the platform had about 10.6 million installs in February 2021. In March there were 2.9 million installs, and in April the statistic showed a 69% dip: the app had only about 873,000 downloads globally.
According to latest research, in July 2021 Clubhouse has 10 million weekly active global users and is being downloaded by about 4.6 million people monthly.
What went wrong
The Clubhouse blew up as a unique startup because of unusual characteristic that no other platform had. But probably its uniqueness was the main reason why Clubhouse began to lose users. Here are some of the most controversial features of this social network:
- Conversations only
The interaction in Clubhouse app is based only on live podcast-like discussions. People that enter the chat rooms can just listen to these conversations or throw in their own opinion and thoughts. However, users can`t write any private messages, upload videos and texts. Also due to the app`s policy live discussions can`t be recorded and saved.
Besides the inconvenience for those who can`t join chats in certain time and miss them, Clubhouse users noticed other drawback of this app. Because of its features, the platform is missing content moderation. It seems that developers didn`t have any certain plan for it. Inability to record chats reduces speaker`s responsibility for things they are saying – especially offensive statements that are inappropriate in today’s society.
- Android-free zone
For over a year the Clubhouse app has only been available for IOS users. In May 2021 the official Android version vas released, but at that time a huge part of its audience has already lost interest in this platform.
According to statistics, Android mobile system is way more popular than IOS. Apple users prevail only in Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In other countries Android-based smartphones are used more commonly, so Clubhouse developers may have made a big mistake from the very beginning.
- Invitation system
Originally Clubhouse was meant to be an invite-only app which only selected people could get into. This July platform creators decided to get rid of invitations and make this social network available for everyone. But – same for releasing of version for Android system – it was too late. All hype and fuss around Clubhouse ended in the beginning of spring and is most likely to never come back again.
What will keep the interest?
Last but not least comes the issue of interest in Clubhouse app. «A more human place on the internet where people come together for great conversation» – that is what its official description in Apple Store says. In fact, Clubhouse platform can connect people from different countries, with various occupations and backgrounds – but experts claim that users are mostly interested in celebrities that join live conversations.
A few months ago Clubhouse stated that the platform is going to engage more celebrities and create new features in order to retain user`s attention. For instance, this July was announced a collaboration with TED to deliver famous TED Talks in audio format.
But despite all the efforts in keeping the audience interested the chances of second wave of Clubhouse hype are bare minimum. This platform was not able to compete with apps with a wider set of functions from the very beginning, but this game was quite entertaining to watch.
