Everyone at once seems to be talking about Clubhouse, the 11 month old social media app that has attracted the likes of Elon Musk, along with a $1 billion valuation. I found myself wondering, why is this app so popular?

The basic architecture seems pretty simple: Zoom without the video, plus the ability to see which discussions are happening now. But this seemingly simple product has grown from zero to 10 million users at warp speed.

The timing of the launch, along with the user obsession of Clubhouse’s founders, seems to have driven this incredible growth.

Clubhouse launched in April 2020, just weeks after the lockdowns began. What better time to debut an app that connects people? And Clubhouse connected us in a live, personal, and serendipitous way. Unlike Twitter or Instagram, you never knew who would show up. These chance interactions were precisely what we were missing while stuck in our houses.

…Hoover said he believed the ephemerality makes the app special. “It better reflects how we communicate in the real world and encourages a more authentic conversation,” he said.

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Clubhouse arrived at a perfect moment. It delivered spontaneous conversations and chance meetings to people stuck at home.

Clubhouse’s founders have also eagerly sought feedback from day one:

Every Sunday, thousands of Clubhousers attend a town hall with the app’s two cofounders, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth.

This strikes me as brilliant and perhaps comes from their history of having built social products before, some of which didn’t make it.

Since I use Android rather than iOS, I actually haven’t tried Clubhouse yet, but I look forward to checking out their forthcoming Android app.

What do you like or dislike about Clubhouse? Let us know in the comments below!

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