It will be interesting to see how Clubhouse on Android shines amidst the flood of competition on the platform.
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Facebook’s first go at cloning Clubhouse success is here. Say hello to Hotline!
Facebook has been rumored to be at work on its own audio chatroom platform to ape the Clubhouse success story. Well, the social media juggernaut has finally taken its first crack at the live audio game and is calling it Hotline. Developed by the company’s NPE experimental product division, the web-based application will be free for all to join – unlike the invite-only format of Clubhouse – and it has already entered the public beta testing phase.
Hotline has entered the public beta testing phase, and it will be free for all
Hotline takes some cues from cues from Clubhouse and Spaces, but adds a video element to it. The latest Facebook offering, which TechCrunch describes as ‘mashup of Instagram Live and Clubhouse’ – will let the host switch to a video of themselves instead of being limited to audio interaction only. Interestingly, Hotline will let users sign in via Twitter, but SMS verification is required as well.
Talking about the interface, there will be a section for listeners that are identifiable by their profile icons. Notably, Hotline also has a dedicated section where a list of text-based questions asked by listeners will appear, complete with the ability to upvote or downvote a question. And if the host wants, they can proceed to have a chat with the listener who asked a question that seems interesting and worth talking about.
Hotline adds a video element to the audio session
So essentially, it’s a turn-based Q&A approach where the listener gets an opportunity to pitch a question via text, and then get a chance to discuss it with the host over audio. The rest of the listeners, meanwhile, can show their love for the ongoing session with reaction emojis, just like they would do on Twitter’s Spaces. Also, there will be no limit on the number of participants that can tune in to a Hotline session.
Hosts will be able to remove questions as they deem fit and also have the power to remove certain people from the interaction. A neat feature is that the host of a Hotline session will get audio as well as a video recording of the session as soon as it ends, which can later be shared on other platforms as well. During the initial phase though, Facebook employees will be monitoring these audio chat sessions and will have the power to remove folks who create a ruckus and violate the guidelines.
There is no limit on the number of participants in a Hotline session
“With Hotline, we’re hoping to understand how interactive, live multimedia Q&As can help people learn from experts in areas like professional skills, just as it helps those experts build their businesses,” a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying by TechCrunch. It is apparent that Facebook doesn’t expect Hotline to be a smash hit and becoming its headlining product that leverages audio as a platform, but the learnings will definitely come in handy when Facebook goes all in.
Facebook is already experimenting with a live audio feature that builds on Rooms. As per leaked screenshots, it will let users broadcast an audio chat session that will be open to all users who come across it. There will also be another option that will allow users to host a more private audio chat session with just their friends.
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Clubhouse Payments are here to let you tip a creator who’s already rich
Earlier this year, Clubhouse announced that it is will soon introduce monetization tools, one of which will be a tipping feature. Fast forward to today, and the tipping functionality has gone live. Christened Clubhouse Payments, it will allow users to send money to their favorite creator on the live audio chatroom platform. Clubhouse says that starting today, all users on the platform can send money to creators. However, the ability to receive payments is currently live for only a handful of creators.
Will you pay a creator even if their content is not exclusive?
The company says that it will expand the ability to receive Clubhouse Payments for more creators in a phased manner. In the meanwhile, the company aims to collect feedback from the test group before the tipping feature is rolled out widely. If you have the Clubhouse app installed on your phone, you can send money to a creator by tapping on the profile picture and hitting the new ‘Send Money’ option.
Notably, Clubhouse says that it is not taking a cut from what users send to creators, as 100% of the money given by users goes into the creators’ accounts. However, a small processing fee will be charged that will go towards paying Stripe, the platform that powers transactions for the Clubhouse Payments feature. However, Clubhouse Payments is not the only monetization option that will be available for creators on the platform. The company has more tools in the pipeline too.
Tipping is here. The next stop is subscriptions!
To recall, Clubhouse is still an iOS exclusive and is currently working on bringing the app to Android ecosystem. While the buzzy unicorn continues to make waves, the bigger sharks in the sea have already aped the live audio chatroom premise rather quickly. Twitter already has Spaces up and running on both Android and iOS. Facebook is reportedly working on its own version.
Telegram has already released a similar feature just a few weeks ago. Spotify has ambitions of emulating the popularity of Clubhouse, and Discord is joining the fray too. Heck, even LinkedIn is also not missing out on the opportunity, and so does Slack. It would be interesting to see how Clubhouse carves a niche for itself while facing competition from rivals with much deeper pockets, resources, and expertise.
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Slack is getting Clubhouse-like audio chatrooms, and I absolutely don’t want it!
Clubhouse emerged as an unlikely success story during the pandemic era with its not-so-unique-but-well-timed audio chatroom feature. And it keeps growing, having raised millions of dollars this year to achieve the coveted unicorn status. A Bloomberg opinion piece called it the next social media star. VICE, on the other hand, pointed out the unchecked spread of conspiracy theories on the platform. TheVerge’s Casey Newton also wrote a fantastic article about how the lack of content moderation might prove to be Clubhouse’s doom. Going a step further, Angel investor and Twitch exec Shaan Puri even predicted how Clubhouse will eventually fail. Lofty flattery and scathing criticisms aside, Clubhouse continues to grow and generate buzz.
Imitation is flattery. A billion-dollar company aping a start-up is crushing the competition.
And in the middle of it all came the wave of copycats. Or as the civilized people from Silicon Valley would put it – Imitation is the best form of flattery. Or as a normal, capitalism-hating person would define it – the ruthless trend of a multi-billion dollar company aping a much smaller startup and crushing the competition. And just like that, Clubhouse too became the unwilling muse for established social media giants to mimic. Care to guess the names of some of these artists? Facebook? Of course. Twitter? Yep. Even Telegram did it.
Hey Slack, welcome to 3C – the Clubhouse Copycat Club!
The next in line is Slack. Yeah, the app millions of people use to communicate and collaborate with their teammates working remotely across the globe, and to also share terrible jokes and bad takes on almost any topic imaginable. But predominantly, for work. Slack already offers a calling – both voice and video – feature. So, why pull a Clubhouse and add an audio chatroom feature that people can join and leave at their whim? Well, because a new feature usually doesn’t hurt users, especially when the service is free. Also, because good artists copy, great artists steal. The latter are words of Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, who said he’s always believed in that philosophy.
Slack CEO announced plans to copy Clubhouse in a Clubhouse chat with Clubhouse CEO
During a recent episode of Clubhouse chat called PressClub that is hosted by former TechCrunch journalist Josh Constine, Butterfield announced that the company is building a Clubhouse into Slack. And oh, the funny thing is that Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison was also a part of the session. As a speaker. Coming back to Slack, Butterfield didn’t reveal much about how the ‘synchronous audio’ thing will be built into the platform, aside from giving us a vague ‘look out for Clubhouse built into Slack.’
“I’ve always believed the ‘good artists copy, great artists steal’ thing, so we’re just building Clubhouse into Slack, essentially. Like that idea that you can drop in, the conversation’s happening whether you’re there or not, you can enter and leave when you want, as opposed to a call that starts and stops is an amazing model for encouraging that spontaneity and that serendipity and conversations that only need to be three minutes, but the only option for you to schedule them is 30 minutes. So look out for Clubhouse built into Slack.”
– Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield
– Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield
I DO NOT want audio chatrooms on Slack
So, we are getting synchronous audio chat rooms on Slack. You can join them at your will, leave them when you desire, or even speak a few words of wisdom if your boss thinks you’re worthy of the opportunity. Or, if you happen to be the boss hosting that chat session. The idea sounds good on paper. But what’s the real point of it? Your daily or weekly team meetings happen over Zoom or Google Meet, in which all teammates get to see each others’ faces, plan a few things, share a couple of laughs, and get back to work. After that, Slack is where text-based communication happens throughout the day. In my case, round the clock!
Unless I work with Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart, I'm not willing to join a chatroom on Slack
So, why would I want to jump into an audio chatroom with my colleagues that is not crucial for work? Yes, I would love to defend how Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a cinematic masterpiece. And how a cargo ship that drew a male genitalia route before getting stuck in the Suez Canal and disrupted 10% of the world’s trade flows through the waterway is the kind of modern world problem that the likes of Edison and Tesla couldn’t have imagined. But events like these happen rarely, and as such, the need for audio chatrooms to get in a chaotic chat with colleagues, with whom you already chat over work and share memes five days a week, doesn’t make much sense.
Zoom and Meet video calls are enough. Why hop on a Slack audio chatroom?
Heck, our weekly Google Meet video chats have kept getting shorter over time, because video conferencing exhaustion is a real thing. And that’s not just me saying. The researchers at Stanford believe that too, and journalists at reputed media houses such as TheWashingtonPost have even doled out valuable advice on how to tackle Zoom fatigue.
One might argue that having an audio chatroom feature might come in handy when you actually need it. And I agree, especially if I were a Slack product design executive who wanted to keep evolving the platform and get more users hooked to it. But from a regular remote worker’s perspective, I’d rather use services such as Telegram, Discord, or Google Meet that we’ve grown accustomed to using for jumping into a group call with my teammates. And that too, only when it’s really important, or interesting. Until then, I’ll just play my favorite Chilled Cow mix and work in peace!
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Clubhouse’s Android app is coming…’in a couple of months’
One social media app that has gained immense popularity in the past few months is Clubhouse. It is an audio-driven social media app that allows you to host voice-based discussions within a community. However, as of now, the app is limited to iOS, which has left a huge number of users without access to the platform. But Clubhouse could soon come to Android as the company is working “really hard” on it. While there is no official launch date set for the Android app launch, it could be here by the summer of 2021.
The latest development comes from Clubhouse’s weekly Townhall event where co-founder Paul Davison said that the company was working “really hard” to come to Android. However, it is going to take a “couple of months” for it to happen. Hence, pointing towards a late spring or summer 2021 timeframe. Back in January, the company had shared its plans to expand to Android.
From the earliest days, we’ve wanted to build Clubhouse for everyone. With this in mind, we are thrilled to begin work on our Android app soon, and to add more accessibility and localization features so that people all over the world can experience Clubhouse in a way that feels native to them,” the company had said in an official blog post.
Meanwhile, Clubhouse rivals including Twitter are on the way to take its space with Spaces. The competitor is taking advantage of Clubhouse’s delay to address the Android user base by rolling out support to more people across platforms. Twitter has already announced that it will allow anybody to host their Space on the app starting April. The company has also revealed its plans to build a way to natively record conversations, which is not offered by Clubhouse.
On the other hand, Facebook is working on its own Clubhouse rival, while Telegram has already rolled out a feature to compete with the platform.
Via: Techcrunch
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Facebook’s upcoming audio chatroom is just Rooms without a video feed
Just over a month ago, we came to know that Facebook was working on its own audio chatroom feature that will rival Clubhouse. Now, we have some early leaks showing what Facebook’s take might look like. Developer Alessandro Paluzzi has shared a few screenshots of the upcoming audio chatroom feature, which appears to have been built on top of the Messenger Rooms feature that allows group video calling with up to 50 people and lets you broadcast live on Facebook.
Rooms on Facebook will be divided into three types - Live Audio, Audio, and Video
As per the screenshots – which likely have been pulled after combing through the app’s code – users will see three options when they try to start a Room on Facebook. The first one is Live Audio, and it will allow users to broadcast an audio chat session to listeners that will be open to all users who come across it, just like the Spaces feature on Twitter.
Let’s take a look at what the #Facebook Audio room will look like when it’s not full screen
pic.twitter.com/F6NhPgkveX
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 22, 2021
The second one is simply called Audio, and it will allow users to host an audio chatroom session with only their friends. This is a private audio chatroom and works just the way group video chats with friends come to life using the Rooms feature. The third option is simply called video, which lets you host a group video call with your Facebook friends and contacts.
Facebook will let users choose between hosting a public audio chatroom, or just with friends
Another screenshot shared by Paluzzi shows how an ongoing audio chatroom on Facebook looks when full-screen UI is minimized. Again, this looks a tad similar to what Twitter does with Spaces which shrinks into a thin strip at the bottom, letting you scroll through your Twitter timeline while also listening to the ongoing discussion. But do keep in mind that UI might look a bit different when the feature goes live publicly.
Looking over to the competition, Twitter has opened its Spaces platform for anyone to join. And starting next month, all users (both Android and iOS) will be able to host an audio chatroom session on Spaces. Telegram, on the other hand, has expanded its voice chat feature to channels, offering users something similar to Clubhouse, but with more features in tow.
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Clubhouse gives in to the influencer craze with its Creator First program
Love it or hate it, but if there is a platform where a few people come together to share ideas, watch videos or just look at cat photos, you will find influencers there. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, from a certain perspective. In addition to giving the platform more visibility, it becomes a source of livelihood for some folks, who might end up making some good money from endorsements. The likes of Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch have done it to a phenomenal degree of success, and the latest one trying to replicate the formula is buzzy audio chatroom app Clubhouse.
Even if you’re in the nascent stage of building an audience with interesting content, Clubhouse will give you a chance.
The company has announced what it calls the Clubhouse Creator First program that will help a handful of creators monetize their content on the platform. The registration process is already open and will go through March 31 from this page, in case you’re interested. When you fill the application form, Clubhouse will gauge your candidature based on your reach on one or more social media platforms. However, the company notes that it is looking for creators at every stage of growth.
READ MORE: Clubhouse is making an Android app bolstered by a fresh round of funding“Clubhouse Creator First is an accelerator program designed to help aspiring creators on Clubhouse host amazing conversations, build their audience, and monetize.”
Additionally, the application wants you to pitch the idea of your audio chatroom show that you’d like to host on Clubhouse, and the genre it falls under. Plus, the company also appears to be surveying the kind of tools and facilities that influencers would ideally seek from the Creator Accelerator program, ranging from post-show analytics and tipping to mentorship and brand partnerships or sponsor matching.
READ MORE: Twitter finally expands its Spaces chatroom feature to AndroidTwitter, Facebook or Telegram, everyone wants to replicate the Clubhouse formula right now
Just over a month ago, Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison revealed that the company is working on a subscription model that would allow creators to monetize their content. Right now, there are no monetization tools such as ads or paid events on the platform, but that is about to change soon. Clubhouse has been generating a lot of buzz lately, enough that it has prompted social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter – and even Telegram – to jump into the audio chatroom game.
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After Twitter and Facebook, Telegram is now working on a Clubhouse rival
It's only fair to share...
Clubhouse, the audio-based social networking platform has seen a tremendous growth in the pandemic. Over the past few months, the growth has triggered companies like Twitter and Facebook to work on their Clubhouse Clones. While Twitter already has a working rival feature, Facebook is yet to rollout something. But according to the latest development, the company is indeed working on a Clubhouse rival. Moreover, the chat app, Telegram is working on its own version of Clubhouse.
The information comes from app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi. He took to Twitter to reveal that Facebook is working on a Clubhouse clone. The tweet also gave us a sneak peek of the mockups of the upcoming feature. As of now, it is in the early stages of development. From the mockups, we can make out that the upcoming feature will let users create audio rooms with other Facebook users. It could allow you to invite listeners by sharing the room link in Messenger to by writing a post about it on the social media platform.
Separately, TestingCatalog recently spotted Telegram working on its own take on Clubhouse. The feature is rolling out to users in beta. The publication shared the following images:
It looks like the upcoming feature will let you create voice chats in Telegram Channels using either your personal profile or your channel profile. The chat appears as a floating overlay, once it is started. It allows you to continue using the app unhindered. Moreover, an option allows you to record your voice and share it in the channel as an audio file.
The new feature is available in Telegram beta v 7.6 as of now. While the company hasn’t shared any official details about the feature, it could be rolled out with an update in the coming weeks. Telegram will be joining the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in developing a Clubhouse rival for their own platforms.
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It's only fair to share...
Facebook is busy cloning Clubhouse. Of course, because it can, and has done so in the past too!
Clubhouse – the buzzy audio-driven social media platform that is making waves these days – is still in the beta stage and limited to the iOS platform only. However, it appears that it will soon have some competition from a rival that is currently being developed by a tech titan. And unsurprisingly, that tech titan happens to be Facebook, a company that has a not-so-stellar reputation of ripping off rivals and bringing those features to its own platforms.
Facebook's Clubhouse rival is in its early stages of development
As per a report from The New York Times, Facebook has already started working on an audio chat product with a premise similar to that of Clubhouse. “Facebook executives have ordered employees to create a similar product, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The product is in its earliest stages of development, they said,” mentions the report. Notably, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg recently appeared as a surprise guest on a Clubhouse chat.
Clubhouse – which has started working on Android app after raising a fresh round of funding that valued it at $1 billion – has demonstrated that audio is likely the next major avenue when it comes to social media communication. However, it won’t be alone on the battlefield. Twitter is already testing its own audio-based chat room feature called Spaces, and has lately started expanding the test circle.
Twitter is already testing its audio-driven platform called Spaces
In addition to entering the domain of audio-driven social media chats, the company is also dipping its toes into the sea of another hot trend – newsletters. The social media behemoth is reportedly working on its own newsletter tools for journalists and writers that will be deeply integrated into its vast social media universe for the sake of reach and discovery. Even though Facebook likely won’t ever admit it, but its debut in the world of newsletters is inspired by the recent rise of Substack.
Not the first time Facebook is ‘inspired’ by a rival
However, this ain’t the first ‘inspired by a rival’ rodeo (read: blatantly aping) for Facebook. Back in 2016, Facebook-owned Instagram introduced Stories, its own take on the ephemeral posts popularized by Snapchat years before it. Later, Facebook brought Stories to WhatsApp too, and subsequently to the Messenger standalone messaging app well.
More recently, Instagram copied TikTok by launching Reels and its vertical scrolling feed, and even imitated its audio features a while later. And as if that was not enough, Instagram recently announced that it will make videos recycled from Tiktok – identifiable by a prominent watermark – less discoverable on Reels.
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Clubhouse CEO confirms plans of a subscription tool for creators
Clubhouse – the audio-driven chat platform that played host to Tesla CEO Elon Musk a couple of days ago – has exploded in popularity lately. Even though it is still iOS-exclusive, the company is planning an Android debut bolstered by a fresh round of funding that has upped its valuation to over a billion dollars. Now, Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison has confirmed in an interview that the company is planning to introduce a subscription tool that will allow creators to make money by hosting audio-only group interactions.
“There’s so many incredible people who are smart, who are funny, who have domain expertise, who are really just great at bringing people together. And what we want to allow them to do is to make a living directly on Clubhouse through things like subscriptions and ticketed events and receiving tips from listeners who are happy to pay them directly for the experiences that they’re creating for them,” Davison was quoted as saying by CNBC.
Just over a week ago, the company announced plans to add more features to its platform, one of which was the arrival of a subscription tool for its community of creators. However, the company also has a few other monetization tricks in the pipeline such as a tip feature and ticket sale for paid events. Right now, Clubhouse lacks any monetization tools, and is even devoid of ads.
Clubhouse also has plans to add more accessibility and localization tools, and aims to utilize the fresh round of funding to scale up the infrastructure and add advanced tools to evade abusive use of its platform. Right now, Clubhouse is a pretty barebones affair, with no option to exchange immersive media such as videos, photos, or even engage in a text-based chat with other members. However, it remains to be seen how Clubhouse plans to turn a profit – via ads or by taking a cut from subscription fees – as the arrival on Android will give a massive boost to its user base, while the addition of new features will require upgrading its infrastructure.
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Clubhouse is making an Android app bolstered by a fresh round of funding
Clubhouse – a new audio-driven social media app that allows hosting voice-based discussions within a community – has surged big time lately. Even though it is currently following an invite-only model, I’ve personally witnessed a lot of creators and prominent personalities from domains ranging from music and health to journalism hosting discussions on the platform. The only drawback? Well, Clubhouse is currently exclusive to iOS, which has left a huge majority of interested users without access to the platform. That is about to change soon, as Clubhouse has finally started working on its Android app.
An Android app is coming, but we don't know when, yet!
“From the earliest days, we’ve wanted to build Clubhouse for everyone. With this in mind, we are thrilled to begin work on our Android app soon, and to add more accessibility and localization features so that people all over the world can experience Clubhouse in a way that feels native to them,” the company said in an official blog post. However, it is unclear how long it will take before the company officially releases the Android app.
As per a report from TheInformation, venture capital firms have approached the company regarding a fresh round of funding that will help the company reach a $1 billion valuation. Talks about buying shares from existing shareholders are reportedly underway as well. While the company is yet to officially confirm the bit about reaching a $1 billion valuation and attaining the unicorn status officially, the blog post does mention that Clubhouse has secured a fresh round of funding and has outlined how it wants to put that money to use in order to further improve the voice-based social media platform.
Clubhouse has big plans to scale up and add new features to its platform
Clubhouse says that it will utilize the funds to add more accessibility and localization features, scaling up the infrastructure, and adding more advanced tools to effectively curb abusive use of its platform. The company also aims to boost the discovery aspect of its platform by making it easier for users to find people, clubs, and rooms that might be of interest to them. More importantly, the company will also add monetization tools for creators by introducing features such as tips, subscriptions, and selling tickets to their voice-based discussions.
Clubhouse will have to duke it out with Spaces by Twitter
While the popularity of Clubhouse has soared in the wake of a global pandemic that has pushed more creators and audiences online, the company has a venerable rival that is also in its nascent stage. That rival is Spaces by Twitter, which went live last month and is currently in the closed-circle testing phase. By default, Twitter has a much wider reach, and luring the audience to its new voice-based social media platform that is Spaces would be much easier than for Clubhouse to increase its user base organically. Plus, Twitter has more resources at its disposal to one-up Clubhouse on almost every parameter.
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