But now the app has gone far beyond being just hype.
Now its actually become aprofession.Battenhall, a London-based communications agency, ishiring a Senior Clubhouse Executive.
Yup, for reals.
Ive got to admit Im pretty skeptical about Clubhouses value (you couldnt tell, right?).
First up, WTF is Clubhouse?
Essentially, its a live audio social online grid that launched in private beta back in April 2020.
Case in point, theres already ahost of support appsfor the platform and even aconciergeservice.
This feels likepeak Clubhouseto outside skeptics.
Before getting Benvies insights on the platform, Id have to try it out for myself.
Its still in beta testing and currently only available for iOS.
When I finally got one, what did I see?
Bad moderation and unstructured sessions.It felt like I was listening to a chaotic, unedited podcast.
Quartz Daily Briefpointed out that Clubhouse basically shows hownotto run a meeting.
But whats Drew Benvies take?
Hes an early adopter and pushing his company to invest in a Senior Clubhouse Executive.
Is Benvie ready to defend the quality of Clubhouse content?
I joined a session the other day that lastedfive hours.
I only stayed for 10 minutes and said to myself wow, this is rubbish.
Luckily, I was on mute… or at least I hope I was, Benvie says.
But thats actually okay, Benvie explains.
I wouldnt write it off just because theres some poor content on there now.
But Im kind of an accidental early-adopter and I just wanted to dive in.
I would say Clubhouses real strength is that its created a platform for serendipity, Benvie explains.
Just the other day, Benvie caught Mark Zuckerbergs surprise appearance on Clubhouse.
It felt much more personal because the audience actually has a chance to chime in.
Benvie has also had serendipitous moments in rooms he himself has hosted.
I spoke to him directly for 20 minutes in front of a relatively small audience.
So what is up with this new job title, is this just a marketing ploy concocted by Battenhall?
I mean, I bit.
No, its a real role.
People in those roles come from a wide variety of backgrounds journalists, YouTubers, etc.
But why put so much money on Clubhouse?
Battenhall couldve easily hired aJuniorClubhouse Executive, but instead, Benvie is committing them fully to this strategy.
The answer is actually pretty simple.
The role came about quite organically.
Snapchat introduced Stories, but now platforms like Instagram are more famous for the feature.
Hello… is it me youre looking for?
Oh, and its still in beta.
Well, you could still have loads of experience, relative to the platforms lifespan.
I hope history will treat me kindly.
Got any weird jargon job titles at your startup that actually kinda make sense?
Let us know at growthquarters@thenextweb.com!
Story byMar Masson Maack
Mar tries to juggle his editorial duties with writing the occasional weird article.
He also loves talking about himself in the third person.
