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Mary-Ann Lasson, BBC News Business Reporter
Courtesy image, NurPhoto
The number of new users of the “Club House” SNS voice, which only supports iOS applications like the iPhone, exploded last week. Among them are Chinese who talk about politics.
According to sensor tower, a research firm that analyzes mobile apps, Clubhouse has been downloaded 2.3 million times as of January 31.
The voice chat app is free to use, but currently only invited people can participate.
But Chinese users have paid up to $ 77 and are receiving invitations to the app from an e-commerce site, the Financial Times reports.
The clubhouse, which opened in April last year, is valued at nearly $ 100 million (about 10.5 billion yen). Users can join public or private voice chat rooms.
Since the conversation is not recorded, privacy is theoretically assured, but some interviews with celebrities and influencers are secretly recorded and uploaded to YouTube.
Initially, most of the people who adopted the app were Silicon Valley engineers and investors. However, the nature of the invitation system brings a special fascinating sentiment, and American moderator Oprah Winfrey, American actor Ashton Kutcher, Canadian rapper Drake, American rapper Azilia Banks and American actor Jared. Many celebrities like Mr. Leto and Mr. Tiffany Hadish, an American actress, have come to participate.
High-tech giants like Elon Musk, CEO of US electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, will attend interviews and talk shows. With the addition of the clubhouse, the number of app downloads has increased. more than double in the last two weeks.
Clubhouse shares soared 117% a day when Musk tweeted that he would be giving a live chat on the app.
Freely discuss controversial issues
At the moment, the clubhouse is only available on iPhone. It can be accessed from mainland China without using a virtual private network (VPN) to bypass China’s great firewalls.
Many of the chat rooms are private or deleted, but thousands of Chinese users join the clubhouse chat rooms on the weekends. From the protests in Hong Kong to the treatment of Uighurs and the rising tensions between China and Taiwan, he freely discussed issues that are considered taboo in China.
Several Chinese users who heard the voice chat at the clubhouse discussed what they heard on Twitter.
Clubhouse UsersArendt hootonHe tweeted upon hearing a conversation between Uighurs, journalists and Chinese. The exchange was “sincere and peaceful enough to make you want to cry.” Meanwhile, in another conversation, mainland Chinese youth heard the latest information from Hong Kong youth and expressed their sympathy.
“Perhaps uncensored communication with ordinary people is the most important thing for Chinese users to use the clubhouse” (translated from Mandarin).
US podcaster Kaiser Kuo said the chat room had “very candid” comments about the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.cheepdid.
Mr. Kuo reported that people in mainland China were discussing evidence of human rights abuses against Uighurs and whether what the Chinese government was doing was correct.
Some defended China and made negative comments on the Uighur issue, but some were willing to hear stories about arrests in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and confiscation of passports.
However, it is unlikely that the Chinese government will continue to allow access to the clubhouse.
Clubhouse Monetization
Although he is currently invited, he offers a wide range of audio-based activities such as live DJ performances, celebrity talk shows, and speed dating.
None of these activities have been monetized, but according to the New York Times, the clubhouse plans to treat popular users as “influencers.”
Courtesy image, Youtube
Screenshots from Elon Musk’s clubhouse interview
More than 40 influencers from the clubhouse will be invited to the Creators Pilot Program to attend regular meetings with the app’s founders and give them special access to new tools.
On the other hand, there are criticisms about the application because there is no mediator to scrutinize the content.
In an article from December last year, the cultural site Vulture noted that if the chat room referees weren’t careful, the topic could easily derail itself from its original purpose and the discussion could be aggressive. He claimed that even celebrities could be targeted and that the clubhouse was on the “brink” of what became a “new wasteland on the Internet.”
“I still don’t know if the app will be out of balance with the chaos, coldness and freshness that this young app has now. App privileges will be lowered and anyone will be able to log in. I don’t know if famous regular users will remain as they are when It happens. Also, we are only interested in voice applications that allow us to meet strangers like the 90s chat line. Is it because I feel lonely because I can’t do it, or is there something Another reason? That is also important to him. future, “wrote Vulture’s Craig Jenkins.
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