I’m writing this cos i don’t want to retype + copy-paste to friends about Clubhouse anymore!
Also, i have spent way too many hours on Clubhouse… and been eating at weird times or losing sleep because of it! It’s so freaking addictive cos there’s so much to learn from so many people in the world!! Last Saturday i was waiting for Val to call late at night, and i passed out listening to Clubhouse on the sofa around 2am maybe… woke up at 8am, and continued listening to Clubhouse ALL OF SUNDAY OMGGGGG ??โโ๏ธ
So I’m gonna quickly note down here my personal experience with Clubhouse, and you can decide what you would like to take away from it ?
Sooo I’m sure you can easily google what the latest Clubhouse app is and how it’s exploding in various communities around the world.
It’s an audio-only platform, where thousands (or millions soon?) of virtual conference rooms are available covering any topic imaginable, live, and supposedly, unrecorded. Each ‘room’ has a moderator who can allow speakers up on stage, people can have discussions with an audience who in turn can raise their hands to take a turn at speaking too.
My first description to Val was that i found it like ‘Burning Man online’
Cos when you have a collective of all kinds of people in the world exist in one place, anything goes.
It’s an amazing app especially for people going through lockdown alone (like me rn) cos it enables me to find my tribe, connect with like-minded peeps and feel a lot less lonely!
Search keywords of specific interests that you have
From there you can locate other clubs which include those keywords under their profile description. Just follow them so their Rooms pop-up whenever you happen to be on the app.
For instance i simply typed words like cryptocurrency, quantum physics, breathwork, business, marketing, etc, and started following random clubs.
Then the more Rooms i explored, the more Profiles of people i discovered, liked and followed.
Following people and switching on the bell on their profile alerts you when they appear to speak.
You can also search persons in leadership, mentorship or whathaveyou whom you look up to and check if they’re on the app, then you get to listen to your favourite people speak live!
Stay in rooms for a long time
Some Malaysians commented that people speak for really long in Clubhouse, and i feel it’s because culturally – we aren’t accustomed to long monologues.
I realised from my time spent in the States especially, that groups of friends there could gather and have drawn-out discussions for hours, with one person speaking for up to 30 minutes and everyone else respectfully giving their attention and time. With more discussions following thereafter.
In South East Asia, i feel we have a very swift interchange of dialogue,
but a long exchange is wonderful for topics to go really deep.
Clubhouse Moderator and Speaker habits
Moderators start a room and can invite others to be Moderators or Speakers.
If you’re a speaker on stage, you need to mute your audio when someone else is speaking, so that all the external noise doesn’t interfere with the room. Tapping on your mute button rapidly signals applause or reaction to whatever the speaker is saying at the time.
Most Clubhouse early adopters prefer people to put extremely specific topics as the title of each room, so you know what you’re kinda getting into. And if the topic goes off point, the moderators try to reset the room’s subject and continue.
But now that there’re allll kinds of people, there’s bound to be all types of titles or no titles even.
Intelligence Sharing & Support
I find the beauty in Clubhouse to be the vast number of high-profile industry experts on it, who are sharing their views and experience for others to soak up. I heard Elon Musk on it last week Wednesday, and apparently, Oprah was on it a few weeks prior. Once you check diff profiles out (which are in long-form) linked to their IG and Twitter, you can validate their authenticity for yourself.
It’s also an amazing platform which gives one the opportunity to raise their hand to hopefully get unto the stage to ask questions.
One thing i noticed is how the major Clubhouse moderators make it a point to play nice, very nice. They want to cultivate a safe space to share thoughts, learn from each other, allow people who have relatable experiences to share, and for everyone to feel supported.
On the other hand, I’ve heard from a friend that some rooms were abusive and included racial slurs and threats. Well, i just don’t happen upon them and if i did, i’d just leave the room!
We are all free beings… nobody is forcing you to stay and listen to something that makes you feel bad! Just ciao by tappingย the ‘Leave Quietly’ button and exit.
Go join another room! Or start your own room talking about whatever you like!
I’ve mostly been listening to tech entrepreneurs, shamans and physicists… super random i know, but my interests are so varied! I’ll share what interesting experiences i’ve had on Clubhouse so far at the bottom of this post ?
Check out Clubhouse Community Guidelines and Principles for detailed understanding ๐
“Our north star was to create something where you could close the app at the end of the session feeling better than you did when you opened it, because you had deepened friendships, met new people and learned.”
– Notes from the Clubhouse Founders
Rooms I’ve experienced
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One morning, i heard a bunch of physicists from around world discussing their favourite quantum cubits for hours… and i was like, “OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS” cos I’ve never been able to hear anything like that before! I checked out all their profiles (obvs they all had PHDs) and just listening to their live discourse gave an insight to their brain… it was amazing!!
I felt lucky to have caught it… cos it’s not a convo that will ever happen again (moment’s over)!
***
One night i had an emotional experience in a room about Quantum Wealth. I was like hmm i have a deep interest in quantum anything, and i definitely like wealth, so i clicked in. The moderator was a guy who’d invested in bitcoin mining companies, and there was a lady speaking about her relationship with money. She suddenly broke down crying but the conversation that led to it was so pure that i knew she came from an authentic place of releasing her emotions, and i was halfway preparing my dinner in the kitchen when i found myself crying over the sink cos her emotions were making ME emotional and i just wanted to virtually hug her and tell her it was okay and that she’s loved! So i raised my hand and got let into the room and told her just that. The speakers were deft in naturally veering the conversation into one of laughter and ease after that… i loved that experience.
***
Another time i went into a room called An Inconvenience Store – where everyone was making up random things that didn’t exist and you couldn’t use but it was so funny! This is why Clubhouse reminded me of the Burn… when i went there in 2018, we spotted an information centre at a roundabout and wandered in cos we wanted to ask directions to a specific camp we were looking for. As we got closer, we saw that it was a Bureau of Misinformation?ย and it was an actual structure designed like a futuristic concierge but its computer and the person behind it were made of cardboard ?
***
I entered a room of shaman speakers playing their soothing shamanic beats (?!) and saying “i love you” over and over again to each other. I was so delighted when i found it, cos i told someone night before that an “i love you” room would be awesome so that people can feel loved! And true enough it existed… ??
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I randomly told Val that i bet in time there would be a room where people are just getting themselves off and orgasming for all to hear all day… and couldn’t help but search ‘orgasm’ and found a club where ppl do* get together to harness their energy by masturbating together. Haha!
***
Also listened to rooms about:
– fave non-fiction book recommendations
– pineal glands and harnessing meditation in darkness
– chanced upon some healing sessions
– bitcoin sessions mentioning split key cryptology
– the world’s top chefs pivoting during the pandemic
– biohacking with a bunch of doctors and professors
– how a mermaid reproduces ???โโ๏ธ
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It’s an amazing app but like anything, i think life has to be a balance… i found myself pretty drained after going at it for hours and days cos it takes energy to listen. I got to a point where i hid my phone under a sofa pillow at night so i wouldn’t get distracted by the alerts, and segregated my time to my other routines again ?
Hopefully those are not famous last words.
