Clubhouse: A New Era of Communication

Time and again, new breakthroughs and technological leaps emerge in the arts of social communication, bringing something distinctly new or a specialization or a different orientation. From Facebook pages, to Twitter's brevity, to Instagram photos, to Snapchat's short videos, then TikTok's sways, then live video streaming on Periscope, YouTube, and Instagram, all the way to the links of the Hasabati platform, to the latest breakthrough and qualitative shift revived from the folds of the internet's pages: "Clubhouse's audio rooms," the talk of the era, the latest of the era's vibes. An evolution of an earlier idea

A development and update of the concept of Paltalk's audio rooms. From all the countries of the world, people meet in this distinctive app, "by coincidence," which enjoys both simplicity and richness in its design for conversing, learning, having fun, killing time, and benefiting from people of experience and expertise. This is the result of a poll I conducted on Twitter @aazarouni, and this was the most-chosen option and comment among the app's users.

The Diversity of Usage Styles

While many treat the app as a social network like all other networks, entering the audio rooms with the floor open to everyone to participate in the conversation, as if it were a gathering in one of the majlises, some use it as a platform for a panel discussion in a stage-like format, so the talk is confined to a limited group and all attendees are in the listening-only category, while the audience's contributions take the form of temporary, momentary interjections. Many are annoyed by this style, especially if the topic is general, considering it a kind of suppression of others and favoritism among people, though they may excuse it in the case of anonymous accounts that do not write a clear bio about themselves or verify their accounts on Twitter and Instagram, which is a lovely feature of the app. As for the third type of use, it takes the form of an audio lecture from one party or more, after which questions are received at the end of the lecture. This is useful for people of expertise who offer benefit to the community, for this is one of the simplest rights of knowledge: teaching it to others, provided it is correct and as free of errors as possible. As for the fourth type of use, which is rare, it is commentary on a live event, such as covering a match or a tech event, where everyone enters and speaks with their comments on the segments of the conference and its developments. As for the fifth type of use, it is institutional use for holding meetings between employees. This is common in Western countries and has begun to grow with us, since Clubhouse offers the feature of closed rooms that no one but invitees can enter, making it a safe place for holding institutional and family meetings.

The Invitation System

Among the methods of spreading apps is the use of the invitation system, whereby entry to the service is only through an invitation from a person who uses the service. This pattern was made famous by many apps such as Gmail and others at the start of their launch, and each app has its own atmosphere.

Signing Up by Phone Number and Accessing the Contacts List

Among the observations and reservations about the Clubhouse app are concerns about it requiring registration through a phone number and the app requesting access to all the numbers stored in your phone, comparing friends who have registered each other's phones. This matter may raise some observations and questions and reveals how the app links its users together.

The App: A Platform for Those Who Have No Platform or Standing

Some people exploited the app, as is their habit with all other apps, to spread their poison wrapped in honey, flattery, and malice. For the ostracized rabble, the app is considered one of the strongest and fastest ways to broadcast their poison, like most social media apps, if they are given the opportunity to engage and find ears, whether disapproving or receptive. One should never, under any circumstances, remain with them in any room, whatever the reasons and excuses, in order to cut off the nano of their darkness. Even if you think yourself aware, knowledgeable, and informed, and that you came merely to watch or to respond, responding is for the specialists and professionals, and it is not the right of just anyone to engage with them. The rabble are seasoned in twisting facts, planting poisons, sweet talk, feigning weakness, flattery, and swaying. So we should all block these accounts, prevent their presence among us, refrain from entering their rooms, and stay away from strife and the corrupters on earth, whoever they may be, leaving their sterile arguments to the people of specialization, and not remaining in the same rooms even if the specialists argue with them, for strife is a curse upon hearts and their owners, and we have many lessons in this context.

A Live, Direct, and Diverse Broadcast

Whenever a new technology appears, it begins to influence a prevailing pattern, as happened with Snapchat stories and how they spread across all apps because of their usefulness. As for the case of Clubhouse, which has become an alternative to listening to the radio or music for many, it has become their habit to listen to one of the rooms on Clubhouse while performing routine tasks, or while driving vehicles and commuting, and while exercising, cooking, and many other uses for long hours, as the rooms enjoy more life and many diverse participants, along with the possibility of commenting and audio participation if the session moderators permit, according to their style and atmosphere.

A Drain on Time, an Addiction, and a Syndrome

Many have complained about the extremely lengthy use of the app and the duration of hours that the app consumes from people's lives, and how it is the fastest way to pass the time, to the point that some travelers use it on the plane to kill time and not feel the long flights. The reality is that one-hour sessions, meetings, and lectures turn into many hours with complete ease and without notice.

The Android Version and the Beginning of Origin

Until now, the Android version, which is on the horizon, has not been launched, despite the great success of the iPhone version, which was built using ready-made systems from several institutions, with high flexibility in execution and without bearing the high cost of building an app from scratch and preparing the hardware and the many complex servers it requires. Thus, the app became able, quite easily, to bear the enormous pressure and the millions of sudden users, especially after the entry of an elite group of Twitter users.

The Annoyance of Other Apps and the Challenge

Given the length of time that the app's users spend, many other apps have lost out on usage duration, and this is a very important indicator for them. The most affected, in my view, are Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram respectively. For this reason, both Twitter and Facebook decided to launch features similar to Clubhouse in their apps, and the first of these versions is the Spaces feature from Twitter, which has become available to a large number of users and will be available to everyone soon. It is a condensed feature of what Clubhouse does, giving the user an audio room that followers can enter to listen or share in the conversation in a more condensed manner than Clubhouse. This is what Facebook will include in its apps such as Instagram and Facebook, and it may reach WhatsApp, Telegram, and even YouTube as well, according to aspirations and expectations.

Peoples and Tribes

One of the loveliest points about Clubhouse is its being transcontinental and transnational. In moments you can form friendships with people in a neighboring country and another distant one, getting to know their customs and introducing our customs, dialect, country, and way of living, communicating with those far and near. This is a wonderful thing, while preserving values, manners, customs, and traditions and highlighting the positive and honorable side of ourselves, for we are all ambassadors of our countries in the plains, plateaus, atmospheres, and space of the internet and apps.

The Future..

Clubhouse began to realize that it had become an important app overnight, so the mechanism of updates accelerated in a better way, and the shortcomings of the beautiful, integrated app are being addressed more usefully. There is much that can be added, in multiple ways, to profit from the app, and selling it may be one of the solutions for the startup.

The Conclusion!

There is no app free of observations, challenges, risks, toxic platforms, and mined burrows. Just as there is day there is night, and just as there is shade there is scorching heat. But each of us must choose the appropriate times to benefit and be of benefit in these apps that have placed the entire world in a phone. All these facts come to confirm our need to raise one another's awareness, especially the sons and daughters, regarding how these apps may be misused: poison, exploitation, luring, impersonation, data collection for malicious purposes, biased and erroneous information, ruinous directives, and from thieves, criminals, mercenaries, the fallen, the gored, and what the wild beast has eaten! This applies to all apps of every kind.