Based on the immense popularity of the new Clubhouse social media app, it looks like Bytedance also wants to get in on the verbal game.
New reports showing the possible development of a Bytedance-owned “Clubhouse type app” shows that a company that has been under pressure by the American government knows how to pivot.
Trump’s attempt to bring his anti-China fight to social media with a proposed ban on Bytedance creation TikTok ended up as basically a failed PR campaign as that presidency limped to its end.
Now, with clearance to continue operating in America, the company seems poised to deal with such competitors as Zhiya and Xiaom Corp.’s Mi Talk, even as China cracks down on the original chat venue, banning Clubhouse there.
Meanwhile, Clubhouse, which is valued at $1 billion, is making headlines in the U.S. with its brand of off-the-cuff mass conversations, with influencers like Vanilla Ice, Elon Musk and Kanye West attending virtual chat sessions with fans.
“Clubhouse’s trajectory has been rapid — it had just a few thousand users in May — even though the app is invitation-only and not widely available,” wrote Erin Griffith and Taylor Lorenz for NYT Feb. 16. “The invitations are so coveted that they have been listed on eBay for as much as $89. Media companies such as Barstool Sports have also set up Clubhouse accounts, and at least one firm has said it plans to hire a “senior Clubhouse executive. … The attention has overwhelmed the tiny San Francisco start-up, which has around a dozen employees and was founded by two entrepreneurs, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth.”
In short, things look more normal as some of the ad hoc band proposals subside, and social media keeps building in the free world, instead of fighting vague suggestions that different platforms may compromise national security. Stay engaged with changes in this sector.
