Clubhouse Rock!

Screen fatigue, please take a break. For the hottest new social media app on our phones doesn’t need us to peer into our screens at all. Audio-based networking app Clubhouse was launched in 2020 on IOS only in the US, and expanded its footprint around the world slowly during the pandemic. The fact that it could be used only on iphones and that it was “by invitation only” added to the exclusivity.

The popularity grew exponentially when Elon Musk turned up in one of the rooms, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg showed up to chat in another.

The audio only format took away the pressure of looking good and gave users the feeling like they were talking to a friend (or a group of friends), so what if they had a few hundred people listening in.

When CH went to Android earlier this year, and then dropped the “invitation requirement”, subscribers grew exponentially all over the world.

In India, you’ll find rooms as diverse as Shoot The Shot (a millennial flirting room) to those discussing politics. We pick out six CH hosts whose work you should follow to discover a new way of social networking that you may just begin to enjoy.

Host of: Celebrity chats under The Bollywood Film Club (25.9k members) and creator-relevant rooms with social media star Scherezade Shroff CH followers: 37k @janiceseq85

When Janice Sequeira decided she’d go independent with her lifestyle journalism and publish her stories on social media, she couldn’t have been convinced she’ll be a success, leave alone make money off it. Yet, while many struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic last year, Janice’s Youtube show Social Media Star with Janice, which brought together celebrities from the world of Bollywood and digital media together, became a big hit. Currently, a self-produced Season 2 is already being talked about.

“Being a video creator, the audio-only-space went over my head at first,” Janice admits. “But I was hooked after I hosted a session about the reality show The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, and Bhavna Pandey made an appearance.”

CH conversations aren’t scripted, she says, and hopes that “there will be an option to prerecord sessions in the future.”

Janice Sequeira, 35 Independent journalist

“ANY PLATFORM WHERE OPINIONS ARE BEING SHARED FREELY IS BOUND TO BE A SITTING DUCK FOR THOSE LOOKING TO PUSH AGENDAS!” —JANICE SEQUEIRA

Is CH really a safe space? Any platform where opinions are being shared freely is bound to be a sitting duck for those looking to push a certain agenda.

A big no on CH? Talking over each other. If everyone’s talking and no one’s listening, it’s just noise, right?

A still from Janice’s Youtube show Social Media Star with Janice with guests Kusha Kapila and Janhvi Kapoor