By João Santos

Believe it or not, there was a time when widespread social media platform releases were few and far between. Nowadays, it seems, new releases happen faster than you and I can say “What’s Clubhouse?”.

Nonetheless, the cycle is nearly always the same: we download it, we use it for a few days, we let it gather digital dust in our phones, and we eventually forget about it.

However, there are some breakout hits like TikTok. And now Clubhouse, the audio-chat social networking app, seems intent on being one of those hits.

What’s All The Fuss About?

Launched in April 2020, as most countries were either already in quarantine or about to go into a several-month one, Clubhouse is the new invite-only trending iOS social media app created by Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth, borne of Alpha Exploration Co., its parent company, which was co-founded by both Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

To better get a grasp of Clubhouse, imagine Spotify’s podcast repertoire meets Twitch (although content doesn’t get saved once the session is over) and boom, you’ve got it. In short, it’s a space where users can either share their opinions and create conversation or participate in already existing ones.

“It’s a place to meet with friends and with new people around the world—to tell stories, ask questions, debate, learn, and have impromptu conversations on thousands of different topics,” Seth and Davidson wrote.

As of early February, Clubhouse has 6 million users (up from merely 150,000 in September of last year), 4 million of which it has managed to gain in just over a month. Its valuation has skyrocketed from about $100 million in May of 2020 to $1 billion where it now sits as a ‘unicorn’ start-up.

Its funding also doesn’t seem likely to decrease anytime soon as Andrew Chen (through Andreessen Horowitz, the private venture capital firm he’s partnered with) led both Series A and B rounds of investment. Not only that, but Clubhouse has also received investments from 180 other big and small investors spanning across various areas of expertise.

Both co-founders have also said they’re working on a much more reliable way of handling more and more people on their servers as they step away from an invite-only model. Besides, this move should end with the creation of an Android app that will fuse both operating systems and make the app truly accessible to everyone.

On a more social-good aspect, Clubhouse is aiming to be an inclusive service with clear-cut safety protocols. “We unequivocally condemn Anti-Blackness, Anti-Semitism, and all other forms of racism, hate speech and abuse on Clubhouse,” they wrote in their blog.

Stereo: Clubhouse’s Chief Competitor

Like Clubhouse, Stereo is an “audio-based social networking app with the goal to connect and entertain,” it explains on its website.

Created by Andrey Andreev in August 2020, founder of MagicLab (as it was formerly known before his departure from the company) and, amongst others, the dating app Bumble, Stereo has become the new entrant in this new variant of social media.

But, if in essence these two apps are similar to one another, what’s the difference?

The main difference lies in Stereo’s accessibility, as it is available for both Android and iOS users on a public basis. With that being said, it has received attention from a plethora of content creators, from YouTubers to comedians and singers as it allows them to connect to their audience. Not only that, but those who are capable of bringing a larger audience are able to make a considerable sum of money; a service that, although in progress, has yet to make its appearance on Clubhouse.

Are There Other Clubhouse Copycats?

As expected, once something becomes trendy, everyone wants to get a piece of the action. When it comes to the recent success of both Clubhouse and Stereo, even the big names have joined the race to be their main competitors. 

Twitter, for example, has reportedly been working on a new feature in its social media platform by the name of Spaces, in an attempt to rival Clubhouse. While this feature is still on a testing basis, however, Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s product lead, has announced that the testing rollout is increasing in the upcoming weeks, following its announcement in November.

On the other hand, the social media giant Facebook has commanded some of its developers to create a similar product, even though there is little to no information on their progress due to them not being allowed to disclose anything. Although if history is going to repeat itself, Facebook is no stranger to appropriating new features for its own platform.

Another honourable mention comes in the form of Fireside. Co-founded by billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and ex-Googler and entrepreneur Falon Fatemi, Fireside has been promised to stand out from the aforementioned platforms by giving users the option to natively record content. While, like Facebook’s project, a great deal of information has yet to be released on Fireside, there have been reports of a multi-million-dollar investment to get the train on the tracks. Rumours have it that the announcement for Fireside should be later this year.

What To Expect Next

It’s still too early to predict which services will win out. However, it is possible to assume that this new form of social media is here to stay.

While Clubhouse has been benefiting from Elon Musk’s massive social media presence along with other celebrities, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stereo also takes off quickly due to its increased accessibility. Nonetheless, over the following months, we will definitely see both platforms invest greatly in their respective services, which should shed some light on which is going to be more resilient.

It’s also important to note that social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook are already working on similar products which, thanks to their huge user bases, could very well dwarf the competition.

All in all, this shift in social media, along with the attention of all the investors, will be sure to reflect an increase in innovation and perhaps a better experience for the users.