Harfoush, a digital anthropologist and author who lives in Paris, is part of an “anti-grift squad” that helps newcomers to the audio-only interactive streaming platform avoid falling prey to scams.
She and a crew of veteran users dedicate hours each week to running free onboarding sessions for first-time users, and host a weekly room, or session, on the app to document some of the shady practices they see cropping up. Harfoush believes the intimacy of Clubhouse’s format — a cross between a conference panel discussion and a radio call-in show — makes even familiar scams more effective.
We’re naturally more persuadable by hearing somebody talk to us than reading something, she said.
Users claiming to be business experts have run pitch rooms, Harfoush said, where they invite hopeful entrepreneurs to outline their dreams for a new business on stage, and then go register related domain names with the intent of selling them back to the hopefuls at a markup. Fake literary agents promise aspiring authors that they’ll edit their manuscripts and connect them with publishers, for an upfront fee.
Other users claiming to be music producers invite aspiring beatmakers to present their tracks live for critique, and then simply steal the tracks as their own. And motivational speakers are using Clubhouse as a new venue to convince anyone that they can learn how to become a millionaire — if only they pay thousands of dollars for an exclusive executive coaching seminar. Audience plants, fake time limits and other hard-sell tactics abound.
Sam Dean
I must be getting old because new social networks launch and… I feel absolutely no interest in joining them. After TikTok, now Clubhouse is booming since December – granted, I could not join Clubhouse even if I wanted too, because it is still exclusive to the iPhone. At first glance, it is quite literally a public conference call where other people can join and listen in – or alternatively unedited live podcasting. I have used Webex for the past couple of months while working from home and it has a feature called ‘Personal Rooms’ – add the public aspect and you get Clubhouse.
Listening to a Clubhouse & flaws in first 3 mins:
— Harry Stebbings (@HarryStebbings) February 23, 2021
1.) "We do this whenever we can". Nope, discipline & cadence in content creation is everything.
2.) "This is an hour, then questions". Too long, engage audience sooner.
3.) "How was weekend etc etc". Get to it. People churn.
The things I read about the app aren’t exactly flattering: between no moderation and its model of open conversations in audio format, the app has immense potential to spread misinformation and encourage harassment. Its privacy and security practices are equally lacking. On some level I understand people’s need for more personal interactions after months of increased isolation, but do we really have to encourage another hotbed of lies and false promises?
Naturally, the more established social networks have already begun replicating this interaction model: Twitter is beta-testing Spaces, and Facebook is working internally on a competing product. There are reasons to be optimistic about Twitter Spaces, as well as arguments that Twitter’s primary text format (aimed at our visual sense) makes it a poor fit to capture live conversations (audio-first). Then again, this entire trend may prove to be a short fad, quickly forgotten as soon as people are free to move around and meet in person again – but hopefully not before Elon Musk gets a chance to interview Vladimir Putin on Clubhouse.
In each war, there is 1 clearly dominant format — whatever is most engaging based on the sensory constraints.
— sachinmonga (@SachinMonga) March 1, 2021
If you can look but not listen, photos win.
If you can listen but not look, audio is the only format.
With no constraints, video wins. pic.twitter.com/RnFXwbqmVW
Despite some interesting opportunities, a major flaw with Clubhouse is precisely its live nature: if you fail to join a conversation, it is gone from the app, with no way to replay. While this contributes to the exclusive feel, it also restricts who can listen in and when. It will probably diminish its international growth perspectives, as people from different time zones will have a tough time being present when American personalities go online. Quite sure I will stick to the classic options of music and podcasts for my auditory pleasures, which I can listen to whenever I please.
Among Clubhouse domains, science might not make the top five categories where foolishness is in abundance. The gold-medal winner here would be the financial advising section, where genius entrepreneurs promise audience members tips to raise a million dollars within the span of a few Clubhouse hours. These rooms can charge participants actual money to get on stage (even more to be a moderator), and trick naive participants into pyramid-scheme-adjacent business hustles.
Well-known scam artists have magically rebranded as business savants on Clubhouse and use their following as fuel to dismiss people who bring attention to their real-life scamming.
C. Brandon Ogbunu
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