Sleepless in Clubhouse

Jenny Chang

Finding love looked a little different the past year. Enter: the Lonely Hearts Club(house). Digital Strategist Jenny Chang walks us through how “Shoot Your Shot” rooms on Clubhouse provide an audio-only middle ground between awkward first dates and dating apps.

Transcript:

As with most things in our new normal, love looks a bit different. Some of us might have been quarantining with our significant others for 12 plus months, while others looked for new ways to explore and find their partners. Move over Sleepless in Seattle, enter Sleepless in Clubhouse. I’m Jenny Chang, a Senior Digital strategist at Day One. And on this episode of the Quarterly, I'll be exploring how love manifests itself in Clubhouse, so are you emotionally available and ready to find love?

In the last year, most socialization has been reduced to mere glasses and muffled voices. The cost 6 feet+ separation inspired lonely hearts to look for new, creative ways to search for romance, and it led them to an unexpected place, Clubhouse. You might have heard of the app before. It's an apple-only invite-required voice app for users to create and join rooms to chat. Most people use it for professional networking, while the ones looking for love gather in what's called the shoot your shot rooms to virtually mingle with other single people.

These dating rooms are hosted by a group of moderators who bring people who raised their hands onto the stage, have them introduce themselves and let them pick someone in the room to profess their interest. To be eligible to shoot your shot, participants are required to do three things.

  • One: have real pictures with their faces visible.

  • Two: include relevant info in their bio section, and

  • Three: link to either Instagram or Twitter.

Each participant has one-to-two minutes to attract his or her prospect that exchanges are kept short and quick to allow others the same chance to match with someone. When two people successfully match. They can continue to get to know one another outside of the room.

The shoot your shot rooms were founded by a group of unknown Black creatives who were early Clubhouse adopters. The idea was so well received that many users duplicated the concept and started their own. One of the most popular rooms is the Shoot Your Shot and NYU Girls Roast Tech Guys started by a group of girls who graduated from New York University. At its peak, 4700 people filled the room, including high profile figures such as Diplo and Twitch co-founder Justin Goodwyn

And guess what? food and beverage brands even reached out to these girls to give their products to anyone who missed their shots or you shot. One club on Clubhouse in particular is the Bumble hive clubs started by the popular female founded dating app, Bumble. They took a community led approach by unleashing “pollinators,” aka the brand ambassadors to join different sessions focused on relationships and dating and the pollinators can join any of those conversations. Even though other single Clubhouse users are skeptical about the concept of choosing a date based on limited information, many shooters find success that experimental participants find audio dating more intimate and reliable than swiping and texting on Hinge.

Another perk of audio dating is the group of moderators who help facilitate conversation flow. Some dating rooms have resident DJs who play background music, and others have dating coaches who offer support for free in real time. Not only are the chances for awkward silences reduced, but also rejections hurt less.

It takes a minimal investment of time and energy with the possibility of significant returns. There's something about being a first-hand witness to two strangers falling in love for the first time. We have a chance to be a fly on the wall to overhear what would have been private, intimate conversations and live vicariously through someone's life without any repercussions are nosy as social creatures and enjoy get into other people's business or maybe deep down whether it consciously or subconsciously we all want the happily ever after. To prove that love is real. And there is someone for everyone. What do you think, will you give it a shot?