Clubhouse , once one of the most beloved social media companies in the pandemic era, announced earlier this year that it would lay off half its employees as its founders focused on building “Clubhouse 2.0.” And now, the company is sharing the results of a redesign aimed at ... To make Clubhouse “more like a messaging app,” according to engadget.
The company said in an update that the audio app is shifting from premium voice chats to voice chats centered around friends, instead of sprawling rooms where users host live stream conversations that are open to any and all users of the app. The new Clubhouse will instead encourage users to join groups. With people they know.
These groups are called “Chats,” and allow friends and friends of friends to exchange voice messages. There is still the “logging in” element, but it is less focused on real-time talking. The app also ditches direct text messages in favor of private voice messages, which communicate Via voicemail messages or virtual devices.
However, the biggest shift isn't just in the format of conversations: Clubhouse is now positioning itself as closer to Snapchat, where small groups of friends communicate privately or semi-privately, rather than Twitter, where all the app's users reside.
"It's not about passively listening to people talking," the company wrote in an update. "You can listen to great conversations on podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, and many other platforms. It's about talking to people, and becoming real friends with friends." Your friends, people you would never have met otherwise.
While focusing on the messaging app may make more sense given the sharp decline in engagement Clubhouse saw after pandemic restrictions were eased, it's unclear whether the company will be able to return to the same tumultuous heights of 2021, when it attracted millions of users and billions of users.