I remember listening to Alex Lindsay on MacBreak Weekly somewhere around the April or May 2020 timeframe. He was describing some interesting new developments in the world of online sharing that was happening in his field of video production work. His fervor and excitement was immediately apparent. Contagious even.
He described how high-level video experts from all over the world had time to come together in the sudden evaporation of movie production work. They were signing into live Zoom chats which had standing appointments. He moderated discussions on various topics but said that he, or the presenter, were learning just as much from the audience as vice versa. It was an organic sharing of knowledge that was live and dynamic.
He was effusive with his insistence that this should be the future of conferences or special events like Apple’s WWDC. Live events were very limiting due to the travel involved. Pre-recorded sessions open up the event to thousands more people, but they also have drawbacks. You miss out on the social interaction and sharing of knowledge. Online events where people come together and are able to interact and share knowledge is the closest we can come to a happy middle.
Enter Clubhouse
As I hear discussions of the new audio-chat social network, clubhouse, I’m reminded of Alex Lindsay extolling the virtues of a live collaboration to share knowledge on topics.
I love podcasts, but they are a one-way street. There is no sharing going on since the content creator is simply doing a content dump. The benefits are similar to a televised WWDC. You can choose to consume the content at your convenience.
Clubhouse simply gives people a venue to come together to share knowledge. But the benefits go far beyond podcasts. Like the old trade shows or conferences, it’s about a dynamic learning environment and networking.
Podcasters Miss the Point
It’s been amusing to listen to podcast content creators over the past couple of weeks talk about Clubhouse. In general, they don’t see the appeal of a network that you can’t tailor to your schedule. But they’re missing the point. Because Clubhouse isn’t about simple consumption. It’s about sharing. It’s about asking questions, getting to know people, or imparting your views to the presenter.
And just like you have to modify your schedule to attend a live conference, Clubhouse is no different. Only it’s way more convenient.
But podcasters are right about one thing. Clubhouse isn’t really in the same arena as podcasts. It’ll never displace the convenient consumption of content that we get via podcasts. Clubhouse seems more like competition to any kind of live event where people of common interests come together to share and network.
Will Clubhouse Be Successful?
It remains to be seen how successful Clubhouse will be. I like the focus on sharing versus one-way consumption. And there is a need for online sharing venues like to this to exist. But it’s possible that Clubhouse could screw this up due to choices that they’ve made with their interface and sharing model.
Connecting People > Moving People
But even if Clubhouse goes belly-up. Technology is going to continue to go down this road. Finding ways of connecting people via moving data vs moving people is the trend. As I always say, it is the tech companies which are in the business of moving data who are changing the world. Moving people and things was the technology that transformed the previous century.
Tesla is changing the world in very small ways compared to Apple and Google. You can see disruption in society arising from traders buying GameStop stock on their iPhones or Clubhouse connecting people without any travel. These trends are going to change how our societies function and cities are built.
But when you go to the grocery store, who cares if your car runs on gas or batteries? That’s not going to change the world any more than electric stoves or electric lawn mowers.
He was effusive with his insistence that this should be the future of conferences or special events like Apple’s WWDC. Live events were very limiting due to the travel involved. Pre-recorded sessions open up the event to thousands more people, but they also have drawbacks. You miss out on the social interaction and sharing of knowledge. Online events where people come together and are able to interact and share knowledge is the closest we can come to a happy middle.
Enter Clubhouse
As I hear discussions of the new audio-chat social network, clubhouse, I’m reminded of Alex Lindsay extolling the virtues of a live collaboration to share knowledge on topics.
I love podcasts, but they are a one-way street. There is no sharing going on since the content creator is simply doing a content dump. The benefits are similar to a televised WWDC. You can choose to consume the content at your convenience.
Clubhouse simply gives people a venue to come together to share knowledge. But the benefits go far beyond podcasts. Like the old trade shows or conferences, it’s about a dynamic learning environment and networking.
Podcasters Miss the Point
It’s been amusing to listen to podcast content creators over the past couple of weeks talk about Clubhouse. In general, they don’t see the appeal of a network that you can’t tailor to your schedule. But they’re missing the point. Because Clubhouse isn’t about simple consumption. It’s about sharing. It’s about asking questions, getting to know people, or imparting your views to the presenter.
And just like you have to modify your schedule to attend a live conference, Clubhouse is no different. Only it’s way more convenient.
But podcasters are right about one thing. Clubhouse isn’t really in the same arena as podcasts. It’ll never displace the convenient consumption of content that we get via podcasts. Clubhouse seems more like competition to any kind of live event where people of common interests come together to share and network.
Will Clubhouse Be Successful?
It remains to be seen how successful Clubhouse will be. I like the focus on sharing versus one-way consumption. And there is a need for online sharing venues like to this to exist. But it’s possible that Clubhouse could screw this up due to choices that they’ve made with their interface and sharing model.
Connecting People > Moving People
But even if Clubhouse goes belly-up. Technology is going to continue to go down this road. Finding ways of connecting people via moving data vs moving people is the trend. As I always say, it is the tech companies which are in the business of moving data who are changing the world. Moving people and things was the technology that transformed the previous century.
Tesla is changing the world in very small ways compared to Apple and Google. You can see disruption in society arising from traders buying GameStop stock on their iPhones or Clubhouse connecting people without any travel. These trends are going to change how our societies function and cities are built.
But when you go to the grocery store, who cares if your car runs on gas or batteries? That’s not going to change the world any more than electric stoves or electric lawn mowers.
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