The Social Media ecosystem was anticipating a big shake-up in 2021 after a relatively new concept of virtual social interaction was introduced a year before. We are referring to the Clubhouse app – a social audio app that almost started the trend of audio-only mass interactions online. Every social media enthusiast would have heard of the social audio app the Clubhouse during that time as the buzz around it only because of its initial invite-only policy.
However, as we stand in 2023, how has the new concept of Social Audio in 2023 actually faired? And the question remains is – Will the Social Audio App Clubhouse Die? But before we get to that, let’s start by understanding more about Clubhouse, especially for those who may not know much about it.
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What is Social Audio App Clubhouse?
Clubhouse started off as the hottest new social media app, launched in 2020, with a completely new idea of connecting in the virtual world. If you are wondering what is it exactly, how you use it and whether you should sign up or not, here is everything you need to know about the app.
The key that separates Clubhouse from the tons of other social media apps competing for your attention is that Clubhouse is an audio-only platform. It would fall somewhere between podcasts and convention panels that can happen anywhere or anytime and users could participate in them.
The app started off as an invite-only social media app although currently, users only need an active phone number to be able to join. After the launch, the app quickly climbed up the later and initially got a lot of attention for housing really high-profile names on the service. From Elon Musk and Chris Rock to Oprah Winfrey and Mark Cuban, basically, the who’s who from tech to television and everything in between was present on the app.
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Will the Social Audio App Clubhouse Die?
There was a record 9.6 million app downloads in February, the number however saw a major drop to 2.7 million in March and 900,000 in April consecutively. Moreover, a reduction of close to 70 per cent was also recorded in the number of average monthly users. So, the question stands, why there is a decline and will the Social Audio App Clubhouse die?
According to a survey conducted by Business Insider, around 88% of the 5,000 Clubhouse users in the survey said they don’t use the app anymore because it was only “a fad.” This could be a valid criticism because the social audio feature was introduced to the user base more like a fashion than something you can get addicted to, which is actually the driving force behind most social media platforms.
Many industry experts have also suggested that it was the pandemic fatigue that drove people towards the audio-only feature because everyone was locked inside their house and craved genuine human interaction. The concept of hearing real people speak to each other in a social media setting actually made sense during the pandemic.
Other reasons that could have played a role in the downfall of the app are the initial iOS-only app version and the invite-only policy. Although Clubhouse now has an Andriod version and no more invites are needed to join, the initial gatekeeping somehow discouraged a large social media user base that may have joined the platform during its rise.
Whether Social Audio App Clubhouse will die or not is something only time will tell, but for the now the decline definitely doesn’t give any positive signs for the future of the app.
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