New social network Clubhouse: development history, how to register, comparison with other applications

Clubhouse and BigBlueButton: similarities and differences

In 2021, video conferencing has become popular. People communicate, share information, files by voice and video communication. To do this, you need an internet connection, a computer or smartphone / tablet and special software.

Where conferences are used

1. Education. Due to quarantine, schools and institutes have switched to distance learning.
2. Arbitrage practice. Today, the presence of a person at a court session is not necessary: he can connect remotely.
3. Trade. Today, people conduct transactions without leaving their homes.
4. Industry. Some factories are not located near the office. This is where conferences come in handy.
5. Medicine.

Clubhouse

Clubhouse is a new generation social network. Here you can communicate only by voice messages in audio chats, and you can also register only using a referral link.

Development history

The network was developed by well-known people in their circles – Paul Davison and Rogan Seth. The first was powered by Highlight, which allows you to share your location with other people. In 2016 he sold Pinterest. The second worked on the Memory Lab. In general, the team was strong.

Work on the project began in 2020. Today Clubhouse is only available on iOS, Android support is under development. The pandemic brought huge popularity to the project. In May, there were only a few thousand participants, and now the cost of the project is more than $1 billion. Today, 2 million people use the social network.

How to register in Clubhouse?

You can become a member only through a special link from a registered user. People are lining up to be part of the community, reserving names. It’s gotten to the point where you can buy an invite on eBay for $250.

The main concept of the social network Clubhouse (Clubhouse)

Clubhouse is a unique project. You can’t chat here, and communication is not like it in Zoom and Discord, a person enters the group and can participate in the dialogue. However, there is a division of users in groups into speakers and listeners. The latter can interfere in the conversation at any moment, they can change the direction of the conversation. This social network and attracted attention.

BigBlueButton

BigBlueButton is sharpened at conferences. The program was created for distance learning (this is the main direction).

History of creation

Development began in 2007 at Carleton University. The first version was written by Richard Alam. The developer was led by Tony Bailetti. Interestingly, at first the program was called Blindside. In 2009, conference software was published by Richard Alam, Fred Dixon, and Denis Zgonjanin. In 2010, we created a board for presentation annotations. Then an application programming interface was added. The innovation made it possible to create integrations.

Possibilities

Users using the program can communicate simultaneously in one conference, because it supports playing multiple audio tracks, showing presentations and documents from Microsoft Office. BigBlueButton gives you the ability to create integrations, draw, scale and share your desktop. The participant enters the conference as a spectator or as a moderator. The viewer can only watch and speak, while the conference administrator or moderator can use the tools to manage the meeting.

BigBlueButton VS Clubhouse

Programs serve different purposes. The first is for official conferences, and the second is for communication. The choice depends on the goals. If a person wants to attend, for example, a scientific conference, then it is better for him to select the blue button. If you want to chat, it’s better to use Clubhouse, however there is a little problem with registration, ie. without acquaintances it is difficult to get on the platform, and you may have to pay. The choice is up to the individual. As a result, both platforms cope with the tasks. The choice depends on the direction and goals.

Clubhouse and Stop Corona applications against the spread of coronavirus. How two mobile products have become icons since the start of the pandemic

Everyone has probably already noticed the excitement around the new Clubhouse app for iOS (the product will soon be available on Android). In 2021, it became obvious who decided to seriously compete with existing social networks. This is again a team from Silicon Valley.

Differences between Clubhouse and the Stop Corona app

The Clubhouse app appeared around the same time as the Stop Corona coronavirus contact tracing app.

This open source product has been found safe by many experts. Users are anonymous and its mission is to be quickly informed that someone has been at risk of infection. Apart from “testing” for the coronavirus, this “tracing” is the most important element in the fight against the pandemic. Successful “tracing” determines the spread of the virus, the damage it can cause, and, ultimately, the limits of freedom. However, who has heard or read anything about this app all these months?

Nothing is known about the source code of the second app, Clubhouse, and thousands of celebrities willingly upload their valuable contacts just to achieve good status on the new social network and quickly find optimal feedback.

And it is precisely in the different attractiveness that the reason for the popularity of the two products lies. Stop Corona is not intended for the general public, but the Clubhouse offers a petting zoo for your own ego in a desert of public recognition scorched during the quarantine year.

What is the attraction of these applications?

The promotion of the two applications was carried out by radically different methods. “Stop Corona” was advertised for big money by recognized non-governmental organizations and European states. Objectively speaking, the incentive to use it was and still is huge. The app runs invisibly in the background, protects you and your loved ones anonymously, and can go a long way in curbing the spread of infection, death, and economic damage from these disturbances. (For example, Singapore, where it is used in 80% of gadgets, successfully copes with the pandemic and thus almost normal life is possible in this country).

Clubhouse took a different path. People needed live communication under quarantine restrictions. Users themselves were part of the audio application community. The elitism of the product was ensured by the difficulties of getting into the rooms for conversation sessions: you need to get the so-called invite, an invitation.

The desire for social connection, the desire to experience the emotions of live communication – these are the main reasons for the interest of users in Clubhouse.

Clubhouse is wonderfully implemented and launched at the most opportune moment.

Clubhouse and privacy

Clubhouse is a new popular social media app based purely on listening. Simply put, this is a voice chat; in special rooms there are sessions where speakers speak. Experts criticize the most popular app of 2021, blaming it for its lack of user data protection.

Several security researchers have carefully examined the application and not only found many vulnerabilities, but also found out that the data is being transferred to China.

Infrastructure from China

The internal infrastructure (audio processing – the main component of the application) for Clubhouse is provided by the Chinese company Agora Inc. User IDs and the rooms they are in are transmitted in clear text to the Agora servers. The Stanford University Internet Observatory (SIO) draws attention to this.

The infrastructure gives the Chinese company full access to all audio recordings and can, for example, record certain conversations of individuals.

In China itself, Clubhouse is now blocked. Agora is legally obligated to assist the Chinese authorities in the name of “national security”.

Clubhouse has become widespread not only in the USA, but also in Europe. The data of Europeans is now transferred not only to the USA (the application was developed by Silicon Valley specialists), but also to China. By the way, the “Privacy Policy” does not say anything about this.

App update needed

According to researchers at Stanford University, “additional encryption” and “lockdowns” must now be built into the application to prevent Clubhouse users from automatically sending data to Agora’s Chinese servers. Clubhouse assured that they are already working on updating the application.

Researchers from the German group “Zerforschung” also found security holes in the use of Agora software. Due to bugs, there is the possibility of hacking audio rooms, discreet recording of conversations and interrupting sessions without the intervention of moderators.

ClubHouse for Android from a Russian programmer

A programmer from St. Petersburg created an unofficial application in just one day. And it really works.

In just 24 hours, the St. Petersburg developer Grigory Klyushnikov wrote an Android version of the popular audio social network Clubhouse and published it on GitHub on February 20. Officially, the audio social network is only available on iOS. Klyushnikov said on his Twitter account that he was tired of waiting for the Android version and therefore made it himself. The programmer called his unofficial product HouseClub. To install the application on an Android smartphone, just download the APK file from your device using this link https://github.com/grishka/Houseclub/releases/tag/1.0.1.

According to the Russian developer, registration “should work”, but to avoid mistakes, he suggests using an iOS device to register, and then logging into an existing Android account. In the application, the user can join “rooms”, “raise a hand” (an invitation to speak in someone else’s room), view people’s profiles, subscribe to them, and also edit their profile.

However, the Android version lacks notifications and features for creating and moderating “rooms”. In addition, Klyushnikov cannot guarantee that the official management of Clubhouse will not block users using his application. Klyushnikov also claims that he is not interested in monetization or in becoming famous, he “just wants to make the world a better place.”

Prior to this, the Russian programmer created the Android version of the popular Russian social network VK, and also worked on the Telegram messenger with its founder Pavel Durov, but later left. Klyushnikov said that the reason was a disagreement with Durov. He also revealed that he is working on his own social network, which “technically never gets old.”

Facebook is working on a competitor to Cloubhouse

The new Clubhouse app has become a real trend in 2021. The voice messaging service provides communication between people in virtual rooms. This way you can listen to different people in discussion groups as they exchange information on certain topics. Users can use the invitation link (iWait) to listen to conversations in audio chats, as well as actively participate in them.

Social media giant Facebook is reportedly working on a product that could compete with Clubhouse. The New York Times has learned from sources familiar with the situation that Facebook wants to invest in new forms of communication. Therefore, social network specialists should develop a product similar to Cloubhouse.

Facebook copies successful services

This won’t be the first time Facebook has copied a successful product. Messenger Rooms (Facebook Messenger video conferencing) was designed as a competitor to Zoom. Instagram got a Reels feature that allowed users to share 15-second clips to compete with TikTok. In addition, Facebook has introduced a feature on its main network Instagram and Whatsapp that makes content disappear after 24 hours, similar to the now declining Snapchat app.

Facebook said the company has been connecting people through audio and video technology for years and is always looking for new ways to improve the user experience. Clubhouse has not yet commented on rumors about the development of a competing product by the IT giant.