Clubhouse Is TikTok For Professionals

Both apps, though problematic, have their uses.

Photo by Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash

Weeks ago, I said I’d eventually review Clubhouse. It’s an app I joined a couple months ago that is invite-only, audio-only, and operates by people hosting rooms in which they talk for a while, let other people speak back at them, and then leave. So here’s my take on it.

First, to point out the obvious, Clubhouse is extremely selective. It literally grew on the strength of the fact that the first few users were all celebrities. Through those users inviting their friends, it trickled down from there. It’s still open to only a select few, those of us who are privileged enough to know people who know people. And those of us who are privileged enough to own iPhones. (Opening the app to Android users would apparently allow too many normal people in.) As the founder of a nonprofit that’s all about equality and the value everyone brings to the table, that makes me a bit uncomfortable.

But despite the elitism, my first thought was, “Wow. This is like TikTok.” That might be the weirdest reaction to Clubhouse in its short history. Unlike the widely-used video-based platform focused on fun and rough humor from every part of the world, Clubhouse is elite, professional, and mostly black and white, with the aesthetics of a business card. None of the content lives…