Clubhouse rebrands itself as an audio messaging app as it looks to make a comeback

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Clubhouse, which lost its appeal among users after a meteoric rise during Covid-19, is looking to make a comeback, trying to be «more of a messaging app». The platform is undergoing a major pivot with new voice-only group messages called «Chats».

“It’s like a Clubhouse room, but it takes place asynchronously, so you can drop by and chime in on your own time,” the platform said in a blog post. “With Chats, you can push to talk, listen at 2x, tap to skip, swipe to the next Chat, and slide into your friends’ VMs (unless that sounds weird) to chat privately. They’re designed to be fast, fun and personal,” it added.

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The company said Chats are also transcribed automatically and “translated into your language.”

This transformation comes at a time when Clubhouse is struggling to retain users. Earlier this year, the company had to let go of half its staff.

Clubhouse is also ending its text message feature. Now, if you want to send a private note, you’ll record a voice message, or what the app is calling a “voicemail.”
“Our goal was to make it 100x easier for you to be with friends throughout the day, bump into friends unexpectedly, and get to know new friends through your existing friend groups – even if you don’t have many friends on Clubhouse or a ton of time to spare. We’ve been heads down testing it for quite some time and we’re so excited to share it with you,” the platform said in the post.

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