Recently, quite a few articles came out discussing the net worth of the increasingly popular new social media app called Clubhouse. One article that I read stood out to me because it discussed possible avenues of monetization for the app. Everything is free right now, but given the immense amount of interactions the app hosts, that’s potential money that the creators, employees, and investors definitely don’t want to pass up.
For those who don’t know, Clubhouse is a drop-in audio application that allows users to create and join “rooms” where they can listen to or have discussions. Many people have gotten really creative with this feature, particularly the Black users. From heated political debates and group therapy sessions to speed dating and Dreamgirls auditions, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
It’s easy to spend a lot of time on the app. I am guilty of spending hours listening to what I considered to be enlightening, educational, or entertaining conversations. I’ve learned so much from other people that I’ve met, forming connections along the way. It makes total sense to me that people see the potential in monetizing something that draws people in so deeply, as this was the case with Facebook.
The emergence of Clubhouse influencers also fuels the case about monetization. There are people who host several intriguing and valuable rooms that resemble conferences, especially in the tech field. They have heavy-hitter guests who are extremely successful in their given field giving insider information for free during these talks. Much like YouTube and Instagram influencers, since they spend much time providing a service on the app, it would only make sense for them to receive some sort of compensation. Many people are already using Clubhouse to promote their standalone businesses, hosting events that are propping up their businesses further.
There could be a downside to this though. One thing that I have noticed about Clubhouse, and any other Internet-based platform, is that almost anybody can come on there claiming to have credentials—that they don’t have—to provide a service. The Clubhouse team should figure out how they can vet these people and control this before people’s hard-earned money is lost to scammers en masse. Also, they need to monetize in a way that will still be accessible to most users. If they charge a membership fee, it has to be a price that many users won’t even hesitate to pay in order to continue using the service. It also cannot be so low that no profit is made to support Clubhouse’s existence. There has to be some sort of balance, so I’m glad that the founders of the app allow town halls on Sundays to listen to the users. Whether they will take heed to valuable criticism is a whole other topic to consider.