Clubhouse is currently only available to iPhone users, by invitation only. It adds levels of exclusivity and Amira is right to point out whether this is fair at all. Facebook started this way too, available only to Harvard students, the campus on which it was started. I don’t know why Clubhouse needs to be invite-only. I definitely don’t understand why it’s an iPhone-only app. It’s already valued at $1 billion, joining the league of Uber and Airbnb, so you can imagine what its influence is likely to be very soon.
Rolling out a product by country is one thing. Places like India, for example, are used to waiting for features on popular platforms to become available to users later than other parts of the world. But during a pandemic, when the “digital divide” is real, affecting people from disadvantaged backgrounds the most, is this the best time (or at all) for Clubhouse to keep so many people out? This is the reality of many smartphone users in developing nations. An iPhone is a distant dream for everyone except the affluent.
Clubhouse
Clubhouse
Clubhouse
Should Clubhouse exist in its current form?
Clubhouse is currently only available to iPhone users, by invitation only. It adds levels of exclusivity and Amira is right to point out whether this is fair at all. Facebook started this way too, available only to Harvard students, the campus on which it was started. I don’t know why Clubhouse needs to be invite-only. I definitely don’t understand why it’s an iPhone-only app. It’s already valued at $1 billion, joining the league of Uber and Airbnb, so you can imagine what its influence is likely to be very soon.
Rolling out a product by country is one thing. Places like India, for example, are used to waiting for features on popular platforms to become available to users later than other parts of the world. But during a pandemic, when the “digital divide” is real, affecting people from disadvantaged backgrounds the most, is this the best time (or at all) for Clubhouse to keep so many people out? This is the reality of many smartphone users in developing nations. An iPhone is a distant dream for everyone except the affluent.
What are your thoughts?