Clubhouse is social media's next big catche

The next killer smartphone app that offers the potential to transform how we communicate, share knowledge and even make new friends has arrived. Yes, we are talking about voice-and-audio-based social networking startup Clubhouse. Its platform enables users to drop in and out of ephemeral chat rooms and take part in a range of gatherings from small water-cooler" type conversations to larger discussions featuring expert panels often attended by thousands of listeners.

Since its launch last March, Clubhouse has increasingly become a cultural phenomenon  attracting politicians, celebrities and experts from all walks of life. With its success and prominent backing, it may now be poised to upend the entire social media space.

Clubhouse's latest figures reveal how quickly it is growing. During a weekly town hall event yesterday, co-founder Paul Davison said the app's weekly active user base had doubled to 2 million in the last couple of weeks. He also said that the startup had raised another investment round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, adding it now has more than 180 investors.

While he didn't offer any specifics, it is said that Clubhouse was getting interest at a $1 billion valuation. If true, that means the company's value has risen by a factor of 10 since its earlier Series A round last May, also led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Earlier this month, the mayors of San Francisco, Miami and Austin met inside a room to discusss about their cities as good places for tech companies to do business. Thousands of executives, investors, and employees tuned in to the vibrant interactive panel.

For an app like Clubhouse or any social media platform looking to extend its influence and user base, this is the holy grail of the virtuous feedback loop, where the network effects of a large influential audience attract the highest-quality speakers and vice versa.

Impressive as Clubhouse's latest metrics are, they may actually understate its potential. All the growth thus far has come largely by worth of mouth, and from only half of the smartphone market. The app still requires an invitation from a current member to join and is exclusive to Apple Inc. devices. So when the founders decide to open Clubhouse to the public and release an Android version, growth will take off to higher levels.

The nature of Clubhouse's platform offers the potential for money-making opportunities. For instance, Clubhouse could take a commission from room admission fees for large panel discussions. Or, similar to Amazon.com Inc.-owned Twitch channels, it could offer monthly subscriptions for specific interest-based club rooms. One can also imagine users buying unique animated reaction emojis to give visual feedback to speakers and interact with other members of the audience. Of course, the ability to make money will also attract and retain the best room hosts for the Clubhouse ecosystem. On Sunday, Clubhouse's cofounders said they will start testing ways for the platform's creators to get paid through "tipping, tickets or subscriptions" in the coming months.

Clubhouse has its challenges. Like other social media networks, it has faced criticism for objectionable content that was broadcast on its site. Last September, Clubhouse was hit with a flurry of negative publicity when some speakers perpetuated anti-Semitic stereotypes. The startup needs to invest more aggressively in trust and safety features and hire content moderators to mitigate harassment. There is also competition on the horizon with Twitter Inc. testing its own audio chat room feature inside its app called Spaces.