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Leaving Musk aside, seems more like how the venture capitalists who fund Clubhouse—who are not coincidentally on the app’s Suggested User List—are guaranteed an audience by the app & thus an audience for the content they produce for their new ‘media’ arm? https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/1/22261435/elon-musk-clubhouse-podcasts-robinhood
BTW (as I’ve said to many folks who vehemently disagreed) given that Discord exists...& that there are many competitors to Clubhouse....& @TwitterSpaces is about to become a thing, CH’s best option is being acquired by Facebook. Could that be why Zuck just joined the stage?
If Facebook buys Clubhouse, it is buying an audience it lost—will folks stay? (I know I won’t but that suggests nothing)…. https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/1357602572538814466?s=20
That said, given who Clubhouse has intentionally chosen to build an audience for (thu their Suggested User List)—and who it has not (for eg journalists, actual experts) the content would fit into who Facebook who has been catering to (by euphemizing hate as engagement) already…
When users join Clubhouse, unless they are hyper aware/very tech adept, they are forced to follow a selection of users called the Suggested User List (SUL). Tho there are about ~70 folks on the list, each user follows 52 users when they join.
If a new user adds their socials, some of these 52 accounts are folks they know—otherwise (at least until 2/2/21) each user followed 52 users out of these ~70 folks. These ~70 are the most followed folks on Clubhouse—& of the top 25 most followed users, 6 are VCs from a16z.
When anyone on the Suggested User List opens a room on CH—or speaks—it sends notifications to 100s of 1000s of people. These ~70 people—some of whom are the most divisive folks on the app, who spread misinfo & hate—have a guaranteed audience that no other user can compete with.
No matter what the topic is, the Suggested User List drives the largest audience. It would've been easy to change before, but now ow that the app is apparently 6 million plus users, it is difficult to imagine how this’d change…or who anyone else could compete?
2 nights ago, a VC (who bristles when the media identifies him as alt-right but whose boss put Josh Hawley in his office--& is now trying to rebrand libertarians as centrist), who is on the Suggested User List, had an audience of several 1000 people listening to his life story.
Meanwhile, Perez Hilton & Tori Spelling had a couple hundred people…& so did a room with Amber Rose, LaKeith Stanfield & Marlon Wayans. Until Tiffany Haddish entered & then the room suddenly filled with thousands of people. Because Tiffany is on the SUL...
Clubhouse does not drive audiences to experts—it drives users to people who work for a16z…& to the folks who work for their app…& some friends. More than half of this list are investors/venture capitalists…quite a few of whom who identify as libertarians...(but no socialists!)
Some of whom--as the founders have been told over & over) spread hate & misinfo! (& give repeated performance)
Also some folks are artists or work in entertainment.
To be clear, not all of the folks on the Suggested User List are awful! Quite a few are folks I like & respect!
Also some folks are artists or work in entertainment.
To be clear, not all of the folks on the Suggested User List are awful! Quite a few are folks I like & respect!
But who is included on the Suggested User List was an issue before I joined in September ….& despite endless promises to address this & many other trust & safety issues the Suggested User List exacerbates (& how easy it’d have been to change), nothing has changed.
Clubhouse made the choice to build this audience for the folks on the Suggested User List by design & intention—not by accident. They have chosen a list that encourages division & (like Facebook) euphemizes hate as engagement.
But seems like “no conflict no interest no ethics” has become a way of life for various Facebook’s Board & investors & entourage … https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/839952972964466688?s=20
Sidenote: it's shocking how indoctrinated folks are by the tech industry. The billionaire worship is wild…& scary, especially if you believe in egalitarianism....the rule of law....& democracy. If Clubhouse users don't realize that design dictates user behavior, who does?
& it boggles my mind that folks don’t realize startup valuations are self-serving nonsense. https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/1353807919888830466?s=20 And even more so when these valuations are made by VCs who benefit from them….& are on the Suggested User List…1 is on the BOD of the best target for acquisition.
But I’ve never encountered an app that is more addictive—or more radicalizing….& I am not sure what is better at spreading hate & misinfo. https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/1310858392584372224?s=20
Which is why I started this project…. https://twitter.com/ellenhuet/status/1354129997317849091?s=20
Unfortunately, at least so far I’ve failed to convince any journalist (or um really their editors) to write about the Suggested User List—and the impact it has on discourse, as well as who is included in it.
By design & intention, journalists don't have an audience—but libertarian VCs—who now block journos—are guaranteed an audience.
Maybe, because of Zuck & because journos are being blocked & a certain new "media" co, someone'll write about Suggested User List.(if so, i have data!)
Maybe, because of Zuck & because journos are being blocked & a certain new "media" co, someone'll write about Suggested User List.(if so, i have data!)
Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capital behemoth, plans to eat the media
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/andreessen-horowitz-silicon-valley-venture-capital-media.php
It sure would be convenient if their VCs were on the Suggested User List of a portfolio companies & had already built their audience (while journalists were excluded)
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/andreessen-horowitz-silicon-valley-venture-capital-media.php
It sure would be convenient if their VCs were on the Suggested User List of a portfolio companies & had already built their audience (while journalists were excluded)
Meanwhile, as Clubhouse gets a boost from Elon Musk, Agora’s (its Chinese audio partner) shares are soaring
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2021/02/04/as-clubhouse-gets-a-boost-from-elon-musk-its-audio-partners-shares-are-soaring/ Seems like Agora must have some valuable data!
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2021/02/04/as-clubhouse-gets-a-boost-from-elon-musk-its-audio-partners-shares-are-soaring/ Seems like Agora must have some valuable data!
China has reportedly stolen personal data from 80% of Americans
https://bgr.com/2021/02/02/us-vs-china-hackers-stole-personal-data-80-percent-of-americans/ Do they need to steal it?
https://bgr.com/2021/02/02/us-vs-china-hackers-stole-personal-data-80-percent-of-americans/ Do they need to steal it?
Clubhouse's Short Life as a Free Speech Haven In China Is Overhttps://gizmodo.com/clubhouses-short-life-as-a-free-speech-haven-in-china-i-1846221095 Devastating—& very worrying.
Clubhouse - a paradise for venture capitalists who detest journalists, https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fblankspot.se%2Fclubhouse-ett-paradis-for-riskkapitalister-som-avskyr-journalister%2F Bravo @britstakston
Another excellent & important piece on the rapid spread of misinformation—by design—on Clubhouse. https://twitter.com/thediyora/status/1359447578388041739
So I guess Clubhouse turned down an acquisition offer from Facebook? https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1359564631409258497
The “Intellectual Dark Web” Is Nothing New https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-intellectual-dark-web-is-nothing-new/ Nor is their intellectual dishonesty & their ritualized performances
Weird how many are on CH's Suggested User List--it's almost like the divisiveness is intentional & is radicalizing folks by design & intention?
Weird how many are on CH's Suggested User List--it's almost like the divisiveness is intentional & is radicalizing folks by design & intention?
@Steven_Ballmer, on Clubhouse, just recommended speaking to journalists & the media, because that’s where folks get trustworthy information....Gotta wonder if he realizes how radical an idea that is in this crowd...
Clubhouse in China: Is the data safe?
https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/io/news/clubhouse-china No it is not. Anyone surprised?
Is it more likely this was an accident—or that the Chinese government enabled the app for a few days both to surveil its citizens & to allow their spies the necessary cover to join?!?
https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/io/news/clubhouse-china No it is not. Anyone surprised?
Is it more likely this was an accident—or that the Chinese government enabled the app for a few days both to surveil its citizens & to allow their spies the necessary cover to join?!?
Well, just like the Chinese intelligence agencies, they are already listening loudly.... https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1360697159767711749
Elon Musk Asks Kremlin for a Talk on the Clubhouse App
https://flip.it/l4EPXy /sure, this is lawless, but otoh I’m not sure there is a better way to encourage @StateDept & US intelligence services to pay attention to what is happening on the app?
https://flip.it/l4EPXy /sure, this is lawless, but otoh I’m not sure there is a better way to encourage @StateDept & US intelligence services to pay attention to what is happening on the app?
Silicon Valley’s Safe Space https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/technology/slate-star-codex-rationalists.html This isn’t explicitly about Clubhouse (tho it is being discussed now)—but if you’re confused by the rigid libertarian ideology (& their hatred of journalism) there—especially from folks on the SuggestedUserList—please read this!
“You Become Hostage to Their Worldview”: the Murky World of Moderation on Clubhouse, A Playground for the Elite https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/12/the-murky-world-of-moderation-on-clubhouse (Not only is this is a great piece on its own—but it is also an excellent companion to the article above, in terms of understanding Clubhouse)
You’ve been invited to Clubhouse. Your privacy hasn’t.
https://www.vox.com/recode/22278601/clubhouse-invite-privacy-contacts-app exactly
https://www.vox.com/recode/22278601/clubhouse-invite-privacy-contacts-app exactly
Putin’s Interest Piqued by Musk's Clubhouse Chat Offer https://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putins-interest-piqued-by-tesla-founder-elon-musks-clubhouse-chat-offer Is that what piqued it? Just in 2015/16, he's already sent a very recognizable (& linked) army of emissaries. How better to misinform you--or continue to provoke hatred & destroy democracy? #SPECTRE
In 2013, a Silicon Valley a16z VC called for far-right mob to harass "vulnerable" journalists https://boingboing.net/2021/02/15/silicon-valley-investor-called-for-far-right-mob-to-harass-vulnerable-journalists.html just years later...
Weird how many folks on CH's Suggested User List share this same false narrative about journalism endlessly...& how often users repeat it!
Weird how many folks on CH's Suggested User List share this same false narrative about journalism endlessly...& how often users repeat it!
In defense of blocking on Clubhouse
https://www.platformer.news/p/in-defense-of-blocking-on-clubhouse Odd how this completely misses how this feature is (predictably) weaponized by the most powerful to bully & exclude the most vulnerable on the app? And allows 1 person to unilaterally decide--without others knowing?
https://www.platformer.news/p/in-defense-of-blocking-on-clubhouse Odd how this completely misses how this feature is (predictably) weaponized by the most powerful to bully & exclude the most vulnerable on the app? And allows 1 person to unilaterally decide--without others knowing?
Clubhouse Is Suggesting Users Invite Their Drug Dealers and Therapists
https://onezero.medium.com/clubhouse-is-suggesting-users-invite-their-drug-dealers-and-therapists-a8161b3062fc Didn't you want to know--& for the Chinese government to know--how other many folks on the app use your drug dealer? Or go to your doctor?
https://onezero.medium.com/clubhouse-is-suggesting-users-invite-their-drug-dealers-and-therapists-a8161b3062fc Didn't you want to know--& for the Chinese government to know--how other many folks on the app use your drug dealer? Or go to your doctor?
On Clubhouse, Women and People of Color Face Abuse
https://web.archive.org/web/20210205152212/https://gritdaily.com/on-clubhouse-women-and-people-of-color-face-abuse/ https://gritdaily.com/on-clubhouse-women-and-people-of-color-face-abuse/
https://web.archive.org/web/20210205152212/https://gritdaily.com/on-clubhouse-women-and-people-of-color-face-abuse/ https://gritdaily.com/on-clubhouse-women-and-people-of-color-face-abuse/
I helped build ByteDance’s vast censorship machine. I wasn't proud of it & neither were my coworkers. But that's life in today's China. https://www.protocol.com/china/i-built-bytedance-censorship-machine Sidenote: clearly private companies (eg FB, CH) could choose to--rather than profiting from hate & misinfo--exclude it.
My strange week on Clubhouse: sound baths, self-help and teeth-grinding optimism https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/19/sound-baths-self-help-and-teeth-grinding-optimism-my-strange-disorienting-week-on-clubhouse Exactly. Thanks @benleemusic
