Clubhouse, a Tiny Audio Chat App, Breaks Through

“People are already building brands,” said Sheel Mohnot, 38, founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, who has 1.2 million followers on the app. “There’s all these Clubhouse shows. Some of those shows I’ve seen are sponsored.” (Mr. Davison and Mr. Seth have said the company plans to make money through ticketed events, subscriptions and tipping, but will not sell ads.)

The growth has been accompanied by criticism that women and people of color are frequent targets of abuse and that discussions involving anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism and misogyny are on the rise.

Porsha Belle, 32, a Clubhouse influencer in Houston, said that after she spoke up about misogyny on the app, people formed rooms to encourage one another to report her account so she would be barred. Her account was suspended last Monday.

She said she had tried appealing to the company, but found little recourse. “My page is suspended while the bullies get to roam free,” she said.

Rachelle Dooley, 40, a social media manager in Austin, Texas, who is deaf, said she had been blocked and kicked out of some Clubhouse rooms.

“I can see it show up on the closed caption, people saying, ‘Why is this deaf lady on an audio app?’” she said. “I’d freeze and start crying.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/business/clubhouse-a-tiny-audio-chat-app-breaks-through.html