Clubhouse: The New Secret, Invite-Only Social Platform Everyone Is Fighting To Get On

By Charlene Lazewski

For the past week or so I have been noticing so many people in my networking groups beg for invites to Clubhouse. At first, I thought nothing of it. But, now I have even seen people who are on Clubhouse even give them away as a raffle prize to very eager entrepreneurs. Without a doubt, I was intrigued! What is Clubhouse, and why is everyone competing, and begging to get an invite to it?! This is what I found out:

What is Clubhouse?

Simply stated, think of it as a live version of Linked In. AKA - It’s networking gold for all professions, but especially for entrepreneurs! Clubhouse is an app that has exclusive audio-based chat rooms. The chat rooms are created by people of any professional expertise you can imagine. You can scroll through and see who is currently speaking, and what the topic of their chat is. Or you can also see who is scheduled for near future chats and their subject matters. If you see anything that interests you, you can go into the chat room, learn, and join in on the conversation, and also network with like minded people! What a win!

Sample screen shot of Clubhouse via Social Media Examiner

How Do I Join?

Clubhouse is currently in Beta. So, for the time being it’s an invite-only app. Some celebs and lucky professionals, freelancers, entrepreneurs, have been able to get in on the fun. But, as of now, it only has 3,500 members! Think of it as the “Express Black Card” of social networking apps — difficult to get, but the benefits are endless!

You can reserve your spot in future chats that interest you.

How Does It Work?

If you’re imagining this to be anything like Zoom, you’re wrong. Clubhouse is all audio. There are no options for images or videos (you can have a profile picture). The keyword here is “chat”. You’ll talk to others (possibly including any celebrities that are on) in virtual rooms that you can hop in and out of. If you just want to listen in, but not talk, you can mute yourself upon entry into any chat room.

What do you talk about?

You can talk about anything. The intention is to simply connect with others. Some chat room topics have been, “small stocks to invest in”, to “how to bypass the Instagram algorithms”. There really is no topic off-limits. And, just like Snapchat, there is no history —once the chat has ended, it’s gone for good.

Same screen showing you live activity on app.

How do I get an invite?

Since the app is currently in beta testing, it’s invite-only for now. You can find someone who is already on it, and they can send you an invite to join. But, there’s a catch….every new member is allotted only ONE invite. For the time being, there are no other loop holes to getting in.

Are you on Clubhouse? What has your experience been so far? Let us know in the comments below!