How Clubhouse built it's Network Effect?

Question

So I was going through my Twitter feed and saw this (https://twitter.com/KateClarkTweets/status/1352807054738477056) and thought the biggest leverage for social platforms are the network effects so why not write on this today.

So I started listing down the reasons for the network effects of the clubhouse, so far got these 11 points to Pull a Network Effect like Clubhouse (in random order)

A. Easy Creation Tool

B. Private

C. Initial Endorsement

D. Exclusivity of invite/referrals

E. Social Currency

F. iOS

G. Public Relations, not PR

H. Team & Community

I. Timing

J. Silicon Valley

K. Tailwinds:

1. the rise of creators

2. podcast growth

3. acceptance of the audio first approach

4. the need for realtime personal connection and engagement

5. lookout for next/alternative social/cool platform

6. tech/startup trends

Let me know if I have missed something or you would like to add to the list & also comment down below to share other relevant hacks & tactics to build network effects in product and services.

LauraSmith · Accepted Answer

Nice. I quite wonder how long they will keep it iOS exclusive.

Answer

@laurasm00460050 in the recent series B fundraise they have announced that they will be launching android soon.

Answer

Hello everyone, if you liked to read full article where I have elaborated each points you can check here https://malavwarke.substack.com/p/how-clubhouse-built-its-network-effect

Eva Dupond · Answer

@malavwarke Nice article. Thanks for it.

Jane So · Answer

@malavwarke but you can join any public conversation freely. zoom requires an invite. let's say there's a successful person hosting a convo on clubhouse and you're looking to ask them question.  you can't just find them on zoom but you can easily join

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best wishes :)

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@eva_dupond thanks for the kind words, welcome:)

Jane So · Answer

I'd say the ability to interact with the host is a huge factor! Books and podcasts are great for listening, but clubhouse is the only platform I've seen that breaks the barrier between host and audience. In clubhouse, you can "raise your hand" and the podcast host allows you to speak/ask a question.

Gnana · Answer

Hi,

With the frenzy around @joinClubhouse and @zoom_us to transition our communication to other mediums, the text becomes an underrated medium of communication.

This switching of tools means an opportunity to exploit with text, and that's what we are doing with @youremarks.

we are experimenting with a social app that leverages our actual working of minds.

Our app is called @youremarks — we are solving issues inherent with text-based communication. To make it exciting and rewarding to the users, we have combined the goodness of @twitter and @hqtrivia and added more elements to achieve our objective.

We are going live this weekend. I want to invite you guys all to explore what we have to offer and share your feedback.

Carmen Chung 👩🏻‍💻 · Answer

Love this topic! I suspect it might end up being the opposite of the network effect, where it's going to be hard to sustain authentic, quality conversations when they open the platform up to everyone. But in terms of building hype, here's what they did really well:

1. Clubhouse attracted high-profile celebrities like John Mayer, Oprah, and Ashton Kutcher to the app. Other big names included Naval, Gary Vee, Ryan Hoover (of ProductHunt), and Marc Andreessen. People could listen to them speak for free, from their own homes.

2. Clubhouse is invite only. This exploits the scarcity principle: the harder it is to get something, the more valuable it becomes.

3. If you are invited on, you get one invitation to give to your friends. More interaction with the app will give you more invites - but you don't know how many. This is called a variable award, and it is highly effective in keeping you hooked (and talking about the app).

4. If you can't get an invite, you can reserve your name on the app (iPhone only). This is an anticipatory reward - it not only makes you invested in the app, but you also anticipate a future reward, which triggers dopamine in your brain.

I wrote a post about it here: https://thisweekintech.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-clubhouse

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@mangoyogurt on the second note think clubhouse rooms as an webinar on zoom without video, fundamentally nothing different than zoom but planning, execution and target audience and it's medium as audio and other reasons makes all the difference

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@mangoyogurt yes that is a plus point here they have made it browsable and easy access to hop in and out

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@carmenhchung great, thanks for sharing ✌🏻

How Clubhouse built it's Network Effect?

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