At long last, Clubhouse has flicked the switch that allows users to tune in to a conversation on the web, without any of the login hassles or the need to download its mobile app. The latest feature is a sigh of relief, although it may be a tad too late from a competitive standpoint. Now, Clubhouse has a bit of a reputation for stifling users. The app began as an iOS-only product, which in itself was irksome for a ton of users on the Android side of the ecosystem.
But it was not the only limitation. Clubhouse only accepted new users via invites doled out by existing users. Needless to say, there was quite some rush in the early days, and brought some deja vu of the invite system for buying OnePlus phones when the brand was in its nascent stages. Clubhouse eventually arrived on Android and ditched the invite system, but the competition had already reached a red hot stage by then.
Thankfully, Clubhouse has kept adding new features to its live audio platform at a steady pace, and the latest updates might be the most meaningful in a while. The platform now allows users to listen to its audio chatrooms on the web, which means it now works across mobile and desktop without the need to download an app. All one needs is a web browser. Clubhouse doesn’t say what browsers are supported, but only mentions a vague “most major browsers” in its blog post. Web listening will be enabled for Rooms on which the Replay feature has been enabled, and for standalone Replay clips as well. For folks not keeping a tab on Clubhouse’s update diary, Replay is a recent addition that lets users record a live conversation so that others who missed it live, can listen to it later.
Better Late Than Never
But there’s a catch. Clubhouse is currently testing web listening as an experiment only in the United States where it lost a lot of its glamor to rivals, with Twitter’s Spaces being the competitor-in-chief. Interestingly, Spaces began as a Clubhouse clone, but its development was comparatively happening at warp speed, and it even enabled web listening months before Clubhouse. While the platform may have lost ground in its home market, it is still huge on the other side of the Atlantic, something that has been wonderfully documented in this Rest of World report.
In addition to its arrival on the web, Clubhouse is finally opening its arms to sharing. As part of its latest feature drop, Clubhouse is also making improvements to the share functionality. Tapping on the share button now presents three options — share with other fellow Clubhouse app users, share on other social media platforms, or generate a shareable link for messaging apps. In-app sharing is somewhat like quote tweeting on Twitter, as it allows users to add a comment before sharing a conversation with their followers and friends.
Sources: Clubhouse, Rest of World
