Thread by @WIRED

Clubhouse’s meteoric rise has been a blessing and a curse. It arrived at a perfect moment—and could be worth billions. But first, it will have to answer the hardest question in tech: How to, in real time, host a global gabfest free of toxicity 1/ wired.trib.al/tqhsyZk

In the year since the invitation-only audio social network launched, Clubhouse has drawn millions of people eager to socialize and listen in on an endless stream of conversations. But as the app has grown in popularity, it’s also been marred by controversy 2/

Clubhouse’s reputation first took a hit last summer, when the reporter Taylor Lorenz went public about harassment she experienced on the app and its lack of community standards. Clubhouse’s founders responded by promising “robust” guidelines and enhanced safety features 3/

But more controversies arose. One came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. On the Jewish holiday, in a room dedicated to discussing Black people and anti-Semitism, speakers engaged in slurs against Jewish people. In another room, someone on stage screamed, “Free Palestine!” 4/

In October, the team unveiled community standards which made it easier for mods to bounce disruptors or to instantly end a room when it became unruly. But it wasn’t nearly enough to police the growing community 5/

Seedier Clubhouse rooms like “Strip Club” were popping up. Men paid $25 to get on stage, and in exchange for donations, people changed their profile pictures to expose themselves or show them engaging in sexual acts. In response, the founders started shadow-banning some rooms 6/

The founders also began recording conversations so they could assess reports of bad behavior. But the safety features haven’t all worked as planned. One journalist says they’ve seen people use the app’s blocking feature to keep Black women out of rooms 7/

Despite its troubles, the app keeps getting bigger and buzzier. It’s valued at a billion dollars now, and one professional investor says he expects the company’s market cap to reach a hundred billion. But a lot can happen before those billions materialize 8/

It has to outwit competitors old (Discord) and new (Twitter Spaces) and the pressure to monetize has never been higher.

Clubhouse has proven it's a place people want to be. Now comes the hard part 9/ wired.trib.al/tqhsyZk