A Medium Is Born: Participatory Media and the Rise of Clubhouse in Russia and Ukraine During the Covid-19 Pandemic
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In Focus
A Medium Is Born:
Participatory Media and the
Rise of Clubhouse in Russia
and Ukraine During the
Covid-19 Pandemic
KATERYNA BOYKO, PhD Student; Uppsala University; kateryna.boyko@im.uu.se
ROMAN HORBYK, Postdoctoral Fellow, Södertörn University, roman.horbyk@sh.se
8
10.2478/bsmr-2022-0003
BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
ABSTRACT
Clubhouse is a social network allowing only real-time oral
communication. While its 2020 worldwide launch went
largely unnoticed in Eastern Europe, it took countries
such as Ukraine and Russia by storm in February 2021.
Users were enticed by the platform’s exclusivity (invita-
tion only and limited to IOS users), unusual format, and
compatibility with post-covid social life. For some time,
Clubhouse was the dominant theme of discussions on other
social media, mainstream news media organizations started
launching daily talk shows in the app, and early adopters
engaged in a plethora of participatory activities ranging
from propagandist broadcasts to 24/7 rooms where bots
would recite Russian classical poetry, from fervently seek-
ing ways to monetise their participation to creating the
somewhat unexpected genre of audial fakes.
In this article we intend to analyse the turbulent arrival
of the new app in Russia and Ukraine from the perspec-
tives of media ecology and media archaeology. Focusing
on the app’s mediality and remediation, the social media
discourse about it and particular content in some of the
notable rooms, we highlight the conjunction of social envi-
ronment, the already existing and novel technological
affordances, as well as users’ perceptions and expectations
in the emergence of a new niche in the ecology of participa-
tory media. Based on this, we will also try to outline some
possible scenarios for the new platform in Eastern Europe’s
dense mediascapes. We argue that the prompt rise of Club-
house’s popularity was not thanks to its special authenticity,
as some suggest, but rather because of the normalization of
group long-distance conversations (e.g., via Zoom), coupled
with the intentional monomedia poverty of affordances and
clearly delimited boundary between the roles of broadcast-
ers and listeners, which was perceived as liberating in a
produsage-saturated environment. This actually limits the
participatory media potential of content creators and influ-
encers, increasing their power and reviving monological
models of communication that suggest a passive audience.
9BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
KEYWORDS: Clubhouse, Russia, Ukraine, covid-19, participatory culture
INTRODUCTION 1) what patterns formed the groundwork
Once a star is born, its development can when Clubhouse was introduced and
follow different paths. It can burn fast spread in Russia and Ukraine?
and bright and quickly collapse, or it can 2) what political, economic and cultural
be dim but stable, using up its fuel slowly uses of Clubhouse specific to the local
over billions of years. New media, once context emerged among those early
born, can also grow quickly and remain at adopters?
the top for a long time, or after an explo- 3) how was the platform perceived in the
sive launch quickly fade into oblivion and social media discourse in relation to
media archaeology’s cabinet of curiosities. the local culture and mediascape?
The new social media platform Clubhouse, 4) how can the unusual rise of the plat-
specializing in oral-only communication, form in the local contexts during the
became a supernova in the media space of covid-19 pandemic be explained from
Eastern Europe in February 2021, outshin- the perspective of media theory focus-
ing all other social media, which suddenly ing on the platform’s own properties?
started looking dim, weary and passé.
But will its glory last? These questions are answered through
Just as the formation of celestial bod- methods of digital ethnography and a
ies is a process that is hard to observe, it platform walkthrough, as well as analysis
is a rare occasion to observe the arrival of collected data from the perspectives of
and advancement of a new medium in real media theory, particularly through the lens
time and in vivo. Especially when it brings of the concepts affordance, remediation,
exotic cases such as audial fakes through participation, and produsage.
impersonation of a legendary pop star, or We argue that the lightning-fast rise
bots reciting classical poetry. What did of Clubhouse’s popularity is not thanks to
Clubhouse add to the media landscapes its special authenticity, as some suggest,
of Eastern Europe, specifically in Russia but rather because of the normalization of
and Ukraine, how can we explain its explo- group long-distance conversations (e.g.,
sion and what are we to make of it? Using via Zoom), coupled with the intentional
the methods of participant observation in monomedia poverty of affordances and
a digital-ethnographic fashion (Pink et al. clearly delimited boundary between the
2016) and a platform walkthrough (Light et roles of broadcasters and listeners, which
al. 2018), this article considers a range of was perceived as refreshing in a produsage-
questions surrounding Clubhouse’s recent saturated environment and, in fact, limits
East European breakthrough and its impli- the participatory media potential of content
cations for media theory, first and foremost creators and influencers.
is the attempt to analyse how the plat-
form’s design and affordances interplayed METHODOLOGY
with the local social and cultural context This study has a qualitative ethnographic
and how it affected produsage and partici- bottom-up inductive approach that implies
pation observed among its users. This is a researcher going into the field and observ-
the aim of our study. ing the community in its natural settings
We are explicitly posing the following (Hammersley, Atkinson 1983/2019). While
research questions: carrying out online observations of the
Clubhouse app and its perceptions, we
10BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
followed Sarah Pink’s et al. vision of digital accounts is also open for the other app’s
ethnography as an open, non-digital-cen- users and presents only the facts that users
tric, reflexive way to study the digital milieu wanted to divulge about themselves. More-
that does not stick to only one platform over, the majority of the users we are writing
but rather looks at the broader contexts of about are public persons, who use the app
interaction with the digital (Pink et al. 2016; to boost their publicity. That is why we feel
Cruz, Ardèvol 2013). Naturally, the Club- free to refer to conversations and account
house app was our primary focus. In order information without asking the users for
to study it, we used a walkthrough method permission while concealing the identi-
as “a way of engaging directly with an app’s ties of those who are not public persons,
interface to examine its technological celebrities or anyone who never talked to
mechanisms and embedded cultural refer- the news media about their Clubhouse use.
ences to understand how it guides users As for the Facebook posts, we are referring
and shapes their experiences” (Light et al. only to those made public. With regard to a
2018: 882). Following such an approach, the number of ethical issues related to digital
researcher logs into the app and imitates ethnography and covert/overt participant
its daily use while documenting the app’s observation online, we chose to anonymise
screens, its features and activities. the users we cite without providing links to
Our study had two phases. The main phase specific posts.
took place from mid-January until late
February 2021. It was the very period when CLUBHOUSE: WHAT IT IS AND
Russia and Ukraine experienced a rapid HOW IT WORKS
rise of Clubhouse use. During that period, Clubhouse – a social network allowing
we followed the path of the “ordinary” user only real-time oral communication – was
of the app from that region. We managed to launched in March 2020. Its creators Paul
get an invite from a young Ukrainian Face- Davison and Rohan Seth made a bid for
book influencer (the scheme was described the platform’s exclusivity. To access it, one
in detail under the name “pyramid of invites” needed an invitation from an already regis-
in the section Fast radio burst). Then we tered user and a device with IOS only (BBC
installed the app and started using it on a 24 February 2021). While the launch of the
daily basis during the following month, visit- network went largely unnoticed against
ing and listening to the most popular rooms the background of the rapidly progressing
and shows, following the chain of invites, covid-19 pandemic, it experienced a surge
taking notes. In parallel, we were observ- in popularity in the beginning of 2021. From
ing open-access posts about perceptions the 1st through 16 th of February 2021, the
and reactions to the app on social media, downloads of the app almost tripled from
in particular, Facebook, taking notes. We 3.5 million to 8.1 million (BBC 19 February
were also collecting and saving instances 2021). In May 2021, it had 10 million weekly
of media coverage of the app’s advent. active users (Dean 2021). However, follow-
The second follow-up phase of the study ing the significant decrease of downloads
took place in the beginning of June 2021 on Apple’s App Store around that time, the
and lasted for a week. We looked into the social network departed from its exclusive
accounts of the most popular Clubhouse image and launched a version for Android
influencers in the Russian and Ukrainian (Criddle 2021) as well as hinted to a pos-
segments and tracked the rooms we lis- sibility of abolishing the invites (Perez
tened to during the first phase. 2021). So far, the app is advertisement and
All the Clubhouse rooms we listened subscription free. However, analysts pre-
to were public, with unlimited access, trying dict that it will have to change its business
to attract vast audiences. No sensitive per- model to start bringing revenue. There are
sonal information was revealed during the also suspicions that, as user data is the
talks. Information that users write in their most valuable asset for the social network,
11BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
the company will inevitably start trading it improving the content (Bruns 2008; Bruns,
(News ABC, 20 January 2021). Clubhouse Schmidt 2011). It is especially interesting to
has already sparked several controversies, do so in the case of a recent and trendy new
in particular regarding privacy issues (Col- social network.
lins 2021) and instances of racism, anti- The study of participatory culture
semitism, and bullying during discussions is a rather sprawling field with a number
in the app (Huet, Tobin 2020). of currents that define participation in
How does it work? Communication sociological and political terms. While Nico
on Clubhouse is exclusively oral and live. Carpentier (2016) defines participation in
The only text a user will ever type is their a more political way as “the equalisation
registration info and usernames or discus- of power relations between privileged and
sion rooms’ titles in the search field. There non-privileged actors in formal or informal
is no possibility to like/dislike or com- decision-making processes” (2016: 72), Jen-
ment. The main format of communication kins’ approach is less politically laden and
in Clubhouse is a discussion room, which focuses on access, interaction and creation.
can be scheduled or started spontaneously We have neither the possibility nor aim to
by any user of the network. The room lasts review the participation debate here since
for a certain period of time and usually our focus is to contribute to an understand-
can be joined by every other user (up to 5 ing of how participatory culture works, spe-
thousand). One gets notifications about the cifically in the unstable and fluid situation
talk when one follows a certain speaker or of an arrival of a new media platform. For
theme. Remarkably, the divide into speak- the purposes of this essay, we follow Henry
ers and listeners during the discussions is Jenkins in defining participatory culture as
rather strict. Only the initiator of the room
and their invited guests have access to “a culture with relatively low bar-
the microphone while the audience is usu- riers to artistic expression and
ally muted and is allowed to speak by the civic engagement, strong support
organiser of the room only after raising a for creating and sharing crea-
hand. The talks were not saved for the audi- tions, and some type of informal
ence and were actually prohibited from mentorship whereby experienced
being recorded1. participants pass along knowl-
edge to novices. In a participatory
PARTICIPATION, culture, members also believe
REMEDIATION, AFFORDANCE: their contributions matter and
THEORETICAL TOOLS AND feel some degree of social con-
PREVIOUS RESEARCH nection with one another (at the
We now turn to theoretical concepts to least, members care about others’
be used as an analytical and explanatory opinions of what they have cre-
framework. Henry Jenkins (2006) intro- ated).” (Jenkins et al. 2016: X).
duced the idea of participatory culture
wherein any private individual (not just pro- Carpentier himself agrees there are two
fessionals and elites) may both consume main approaches in participatory theory, a
and produce: contribute to generation of sociological and a political one.
new content, as well as new meanings and
ideas. It is customary to consider social “In [the sociological] approach,
media in the context of participatory culture participation includes many (if
and produsage – when users act as content not all) types of human interac-
producers and collaborate for creating and tion, in combination with interac-
tions with texts and technologies.
1 In September 2021, Clubhouse started to launch Power is not excluded from this
features that allow users to record and share parts of
conversations within certain limitations (Chan 2021). approach, but remains one of the
12BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
many secondary concepts to sup- the focus of many studies dedicated to the
port it. I treat participation more theme. For example, internet memes about
as a technical term, a modus lockdown in Poland (Norstrom, Sarna 2021);
operandus, free of political con- semi-professional and amateur parodies of
notation. Participation simply covid-19 realities (Stratton 2021); a fandom
describes how users in one way or football Facebook group created by Austral-
another contribute to or partici- ian fans and dedicated to a Belarusian foot-
pate in using a service or a plat- ball club, since in 2020 the Belarusian Pre-
form. [...] In contrast, the political mier League was the only top-flight cham-
approach produces a much more pionship in Europe to continue (Fiadotava
restrictive definition of participa- 2021). Other cases present participatory
tion, which refers to the equali- practices with a civic touch, like creating
sation of power inequalities in amateur instructions on how to make pro-
particular decision-making pro- tective masks (Oswal, Palmer 2021) or youth
cesses (see Carpentier 2011; Car- support for social distancing initiatives on
pentier, Dahlgren, and Pasquali social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and
2014)” (Carpentier 2016: 71–72). TikTok (Mazidah 2020).
On the other hand, the covid-19 pan-
We decided to focus on the broader, socio- demic highlighted certain tensions within
logical treatment of participation, in which participatory culture that became even
Clubhouse can be seen as a particular iter- more visible during that period. For exam-
ation or flavour of a range of social media ple, the competition between expertise
that invite and stimulate participation by and likability on social media platforms
design. We are foremost interested in how (Marchal, Au 2020) or role of smaller, less
the app’s design, and the culture of commu- regulated and moderated platforms in
nication it stimulates, affects user partici- the spread of conspiracy theories (Zeng,
pation. At the same time, we have a special Schäfer 2021). In general, it is possible to
focus on the political and power dimension, say that the influence of the pandemic on
in which we follow insights from works by participatory culture still needs systematic
Carpentier. research that goes beyond small case stud-
In general, the influence of the covid- ies. Our analysis of Clubhouse’s introduc-
19 pandemic on participatory culture is tion to Russian and Ukrainian audiences
presented as ambiguous. On the state attempts to provide a deeper insight into
level, civic engagement suffered since this problem.
governments had to impose rapid restric- Importantly, one needs to pay close
tions without involving the community in attention to the aspects of media form and
the decision-making process (Bernadette design when considering a new medium,
Hyland-Wood et al. 2021: 3). On the other or at least a new social network, with sig-
hand, participatory media tools were vital in nificant differences in format and techni-
tackling the pandemic, for example, partici- cal possibilities. To this end, we mobilise
patory disease surveillance – a system in some of the key notions of media theory:
which people could self-report their symp- affordance and remediation. The concept of
toms or events. Such aggregated informa- affordance was coined by James J. Gibson
tion gave the experts and officials data to (1979) and signifies what the environment
conduct necessary public health interven- offers to the individual. In the context of
tions (Garg et al. 2021). design (and design of media), it implies how
Covid-19 related restrictions, lock- the environment is constructed, requiring
downs and imposed requirements to work different behaviours from different indi-
from home boosted people’s creativity, viduals, creating the uses of an object that
which was manifested in various participa- are possible, preferred and encouraged
tory online practices. Such practices are in and those that are discouraged or simply
13BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
impossible. Donald Norman (1999) distin- mixture of audio podcasting, talk radio, and
guishes real and perceived affordances, conference call all wrapped in one package”
which are important for screen design. The (Strielkowski 2021: 1). While describing its
former are built-in and physical, for exam- technical characteristics and affordances,
ple, smartphone screen affords the user researchers point out different potential
to look, touch, point, click, while perceived ways the medium can be used: psycho-
affordances are more about “what actions therapy of sorts, promotion and marketing,
the user perceives to be possible than what propaganda and a space for free expres-
is true” (ibid.: 39). This is the working defini- sion.
tion for this article. Focusing on the Western context,
Remediation was theorised by Jay Strielkowski reminds that, accidentally or
David Bolter and Richard Grusin (1999) to not, the name of the new social media –
describe how older media are represented Clubhouse – coincides with the psycho-
in new ones (for example, photography logical rehabilitation system popular in
remediated painting, film remediated both North America. According to him, to a cer-
stage production and photography, televi- tain extent, Clubhouse owes its success
sion remediated film, and streaming ser- to the covid-19 pandemic. People locked
vices can now be perceived as a remedia- in their homes and tired of endless video-
tion of television). The relationship between conferences felt lonely and excluded, and
old or established and new media can be Clubhouse managed to provide them with
quite complex as, rather than discard- “a certain form of narrative therapy” (ibid.:
ing the earlier sets of forms and aesthetic 2) thanks to the specifics of its format.
principles and devising something radically He suggests that if Clubhouse does not
new, they rely on, borrow and refashion the develop into a psychotherapy social net-
formats, principles and experiences of the work, it will have to shut down or evolve into
earlier media. regular social media since, in the post-lock-
We approach the arrival of a new down reality, people will socialise offline
media platform from the perspective of and will not need the audio chat any more to
media archaeology as “…a way to inves- talk out their problems.
tigate the new media cultures through Researchers who study the popularity
insights from past new media, often with an of Clubhouse in the Russian context also
emphasis on the forgotten, the quirky, the present it as covid-19’s offspring, “a way to
non-obvious apparatuses, practices and compensate for the deficit of communica-
inventions” (Parikka 2012: 2). Unlike media tion during the pandemic” (Kolomiytseva
history, media archaeology is not preoccu- 2021: 123). They underline how Clubhouse in
pied with creating a linear narrative, aiming Russia was used primarily for professional
instead to dig into the new media and ana- and political aims. According to Kolomiyt-
lyse them historically, approaching them in seva, from the very beginning Clubhouse
the same way it approaches obsolete and was colonised by celebrities, influencers,
old media. In such a way, the advent of new and experts, especially from the IT and
media forms and formats may be better finance areas. The network was used less to
understood, with a potential for predicting find interlocutors and more to reach out to
how their future will unfold. new audiences, promote personal and cor-
porate brands, recruit new specialists, carry
What is known: out PR campaigns etc. (ibid.).
Previous research on Clubhouse The author also points out Clubhouse’s
It is peculiar that, in contrast to massive potential to enhance both malicious propa-
coverage in news media, the advent of ganda and political debates. She draws
Clubhouse is still analysed in few schol- the example of China, where this network
arly texts. It is usually presented as a new was used for free discussions about issues
format of social media that “features a typically censored by the authorities. In the
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Russian context, Clubhouse seems to be development. Clubhouse initially open
a suitable tool to coordinate actions for only to those who could afford a relatively
the non-systemic opposition, since the expensive iPhone. Furthermore, these early
chats are neither recorded nor moderated Clubhouse users were invited to voice their
(Popova 2021). opinions in the room broadcasts. The com-
To sum up, the few existing early stud- bined profile of a vocal and opinionated
ies on Clubhouse present it as a social individual and an iPhone owner is likely to
network whose popularity was enhanced be found in, among others: creative indus-
by the covid-19 pandemic. It has been tries, IT, media, and finance spheres.
used actively for both personal and profes- Clubhouse emerged as a distinct
sional reasons. In authoritarian contexts, it platform with its own set of rules and its
also has certain potential to facilitate free own logic that set it apart from other social
political debates and coordinate actions for media. One is almost tempted to talk about
political opposition. a different habitus and a different subfield,
where one has to make use of different
FROM DEAD SOULS TO DEAD communication patterns, ways of behav-
POETS: MAKING SENSE OF iour and types of social capital to become
THE LAUNCH OF CLUBHOUSE successful. It is also strongly conditioned
EMPIRICALLY by the original community that came to
colonise and dominate the platform early
Fast radio burst: The Clubhouse (something that still underscores the per-
explosion in Russia and Ukraine sistently elitist character of the platform
In Russia and Ukraine, the popularity surge and the limited nature of its breakthrough).
of Clubhouse coincided with global trends, For example, the Ukrainian opinion leaders
and started in February 2021. In Rus- who dominate Facebook, Instagram, You-
sia (like in the US), the interest in the app Tube or Twitter have very modest following
peaked thanks to the appearance of local on Clubhouse: publicist Vitaliy Portnykov
celebrities like Yandex’ deputy CEO Tigran (1.7K, joined 13th of February)2, poet Serhiy
Khudaverdyan, banker Oleg Tinkov, blogger Zhadan (2K, joined 19 th of February), front-
Ilja Varlamov, actors and TV hosts/come- man of the leading band Okean Elzy, Sviato-
dians Mikhail Galustian and Ivan Urgant slav Vakarchuk (8.7K, joined 11th of Febru-
(Kolomiytseva 2021: 122). Their invites can ary), activist and blogger Serhiy Sternenko
be traced to earlier users who enjoy fewer (only 372, joined 20 th of February), star chef
followers and who are linked to business Ievhen Klopotenko (1.1K, joined on the 16 th
and finance. This points to the original core of February). One feature that seems to
of the Russian Clubhouse in the business be predictive of the number of followers is
community. On the contrary, in Ukraine the the early adoption of the platform as well
main engine for popularization of the social as ties to IT: early adopters and IT entre-
network were journalists, IT and marketing preneurs, even though virtually unknown
experts (Kostiuk 2021). Analysing the pat- in broader circles, such as Nick Bilogors-
terns in the chains of invites among early kiy (17.4K, joined 6 th of January), Kateryna
adopters reveals that Clubhouse came to Mykhalko (14.6K, joined 18th of January),
Ukraine from the US rather than from the Vladyslav Greziev (15.6K, joined 18th of Jan-
Russian segment as the first spreaders of uary), Yaroslav Azhnyuk (9K, joined 14th of
the platform were themselves invited by January) rank much higher than the Ukrain-
US-based users. ian celebrities.
One should also keep in mind that in The beginnings of the first club in the
the Russian and Ukrainian contexts, the Ukrainian segment, called Ukrainian House,
penetration of Apple devices, which are still
considered to be status symbols, deter-
2 The number of the followers is presented as of June
mined possible directions of the network’s 24th, 2021.
15BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
are exemplary. One of its co-founders, Nick Igor Rybakov (104K, joined 2nd of February),
Bilogorskiy (joined the network signifi- Sergei Guriev (72K, joined 10 th of Febru-
cantly earlier, on 6 th of January 2021) is a ary) occupy the top sliver of the Clubhouse
US-based Ukrainian currently working as users, much like the early adopters from IT
director for Security Intelligence at Google. in Ukraine.
In one of the interviews, he intimated how It was thus logical that one of the
he shared one invite with another notable major issues discussed by the users in their
figure in the Ukrainian IT community, the ex- public rooms, almost from the very begin-
director of Microsoft Ukraine Dmytro Shy- ning, was how to monetise the new plat-
mkiv. Ukrainian House started as a private form. Some speakers were making claims
conversation between Bilogorskiy and the that they already managed to make their
Ukrainian entrepreneur Kateryna Mykhalko profiles profitable but there was some con-
(joined 18th of January 2021) that they made fusion as to what a possible model would
public by mistake – and it was spontane- be. Two major ideas emerged in these dis-
ously joined by dozens of their followers. cussions: talking about certain products for
This success encouraged them to continue remuneration (directly copied and remedi-
discussions that eventually, after entrepre- ated from Instagram) and selling speak-
neur Vladyslav Greziev joined them (another ing slots in rooms/discussions by popular
early adopter – on the platform since the hosts. Both were available only to those
18th of January), led to establishing Ukrain- with a Clubhouse following large enough for
ian House (Druziuk 2021). Its premier show anyone to want to pay for access to it.
was the Ukrainian Show “where investors, However, for ordinary users, the main
CEOs and leaders discuss[ed] technol- question was how one could get an invite
ogy, culture and the future of Ukraine” as it when nobody around had it. At first, the new
states on the club’s Facebook page. Already user was granted an opportunity to invite
in February, among the guests of the show only two other persons. After a while, the
were Ukrainian opinion leaders like previ- invitations were restocked. The first advice
ously mentioned Dmytro Shymkiv, IMF rep- from the media on how to get on what the
resentative Vladyslav Ryshkovan, frontman journalists described as the hip new fad
of the leading Ukrainian band Sviatoslav was to look for friends and acquaintances
Vakarchuk, and writer Serhiy Zhadan in the US, where the app had already been
(Kostiuk 2021). around for some time. The second proposed
This is only partly true for Russian fix was to register in the system formally
influencers: the leading rapper Alisher Mor- and wait for an uncertain period of time
genshtern (5.5K, joined 19 th of February) until being let in (Levina 2021). However,
and comedian Mikhail Galustian (29.4K, local users devised various schemes to
joined 8th of February) are definitely not join “the club of the chosen”. One could sell
among the top aristocracy of Clubhouse and buy invites on local classifieds/trading
in Russia. However, there are also notable websites like Olx.ua in Ukraine. The prices
exceptions such as blogger Ilya Varlamov quickly rose and could reach 2,500 UAH
(306K, joined 8th of February) who man- (approx. 100 USD) on the 17th of February,
aged to summon a large following on Club- dropping drastically to as low as 200–
house as well as on other platforms, or 300 UAH within several days when the
TV host Ivan Urgant (107K, joined 15th of market became saturated with such offers
February). At the same time, people from (Figure 1).
finance and marketing such as Yandex’s Another option was what we call a
Tigran Khudaverdyan (96.7K, joined 5th of pyramid of invites. To boost their popular-
February), banker Oleg Tinkov (197K, joined ity on other social media, particularly on
11th of February), entrepreneurs Kseniya Facebook, some aspiring influencers gave
Dukalis (175K, joined 8th of February), Ilia away invites to their willing subscribers
Krasilshchik (116K, Joined 1st of February), under the condition that they would “return”
16BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
FIGURE 1. The Clubhouse invite on sale for 2500 UAH, 17th of February 2021.
17BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
the invites they would get. The initiator of As it was described by Olga Popova (2021),
the scheme would grant their two invites Clubhouse did appear to be a censor-free
under the condition that the invited would space for the Russian opposition. On the
yield their own invites (now four) to the next 21st of March, a forum of independent
people who ask the initiator, and these four municipal candidates was held in the app,
fresh invitees would likewise invite the next gathering a 2.5K-strong public. It is telling
batch (now eight people), and so on, and so that an identical gathering with the same
forth, potentially ad infinitum. Thus the ini- speakers and themes but physically taking
tiator, even though directly owning only two place offline in a Moscow hotel had been
invites like anyone else, would stand in the dispersed by police one week earlier. That
centre of this scheme (not unlike a financial time, United Democrats managed to gather
pyramid) and enjoy much interaction and only 200 delegates offline (Deutsche Welle
new followers on their pages elsewhere as 21st of March 2021).
well as, in general, raise their social capital The pro-government actors or oppor-
and status while accruing only a modest tunists attempted to use Clubhouse as well.
following on Clubhouse itself. For example, on the morning of the 26 th of
February, a show went on the air entitled
Clubhouse as a platform for politics “Putin’s Squad’s”. It was launched by an
and activism eponymous organization founded by a local
Social media are known as tools for politi- politician in Krasnodar, by the name Marat
cal debate and organization. The advent Dinayev. He hires groups of retired elderly
of Clubhouse as a new social media also people, mostly women, to stage protests for
had political implications. Notably, Club- payment (Meduza 2nd of March 2021). These
house’s launch in Russia did not go without “protester mercenaries” often do work even
tensions with authorities. Unlike in China, for rival factions on the local level but never
where the app was banned after the start of go against the government; among their
discussions on taboo themes like the place- targets were activists supporting Russian
ment of Uighurs in concentration camps opposition leader Aleksei Navalny (Ovin-
in Xinjiang, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy nikova 2018). The show started with a mini-
movement, and the 1989 Tiananmen pro- mal introduction by the female host who
test (Etherington, Liao 2021), the Russian said “Okay let’s go”. A group of two or three
authorities took a more cautionary position. female pensioners started a seemingly
The federal agency responsible for moni- improvised jingoist rant:
toring and censoring Russian mass media,
Roskomnadzor, was urged to monitor Club- Speaker 1: Enough! Putin is a
house because, like Facebook and Twitter, champion for peace. He doesn’t
it never registered in Russia and thus want to engage, to kill children,
avoided storing Russian users’ data on serv- to spill blood. We need to live
ers located in Russia as the law requires. peacefully. We have one system;
After the hate speech ban of the Clubhouse you have a different one. It was
account of the notorious Russian TV propa- asserted by Stalin that two sys-
gandist Vladimir Solovyev, Roskomnadzor tems can co-exist, the capitalist
demanded that the app restore his account and the socialist one. What else
(Current Time 2nd of March 2021). In its turn, do you need?
Roskachestvo (the organization established Speaker 2: When Russia was
to monitor quality of goods and services) weak under Yeltsin, it was wel-
reported potential hazards of the network, comed, Russia was nice. [...] When
including privacy breaches, fraud, and Russia was on its knees, it was
unauthorised recording of conversations liked by America, by the EU [...].
(TASS 25 February 2021). The President was good, their
puppet. Oh my good Lord! They
18BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
don’t need a strong President techniques etc. Media companies and news
here who would uplift the country. organizations such as Liga.net started daily
Even the vaccine was invented in talk shows that featured discussions on
our USSR! current events and social-political themes
Host: So do you think Yeltsin’s with journalists and invited experts, much
Russia wasn’t as free as every like a radio talk show. Journalists used
body’s saying? Clubhouse as another tool to engage in
Speaker 1: Of course, we were activism and exert influence on politics,
subordinate to the West. The for- as is characteristic of the Ukrainian media
eign minister Kozyrev, do you all system (Horbyk 2017). The new format
remember him? He took advice coincided with important developments at
on what to do from America. And the time, such as the imprisonment of the
now our Minister… Odessa pro-Ukrainian activist and blog-
Host: Please keep talking. ger Serhiy Sternenko, which was discussed
Speaker 1: ...our Minister of actively on Clubhouse, with journalists
Foreign Affairs is strong. Who on the Liga.net room on the 23rd of Febru-
is strong? The president, the ary openly debating options of how to get
Defence Minister Shoigu, and the him released (which may or may not have
Minister of Foreign Affairs. Three contributed to the protest wave against
irreplaceable men in the country. the court decision). Having short of 300K
But the president is the principal. followers on YouTube, Sternenko himself
Host: So can any country envy us? joined Clubhouse on the 20 th of February,
Speakers 1 & 2: Of course! only 3 days before the arrest, but did not
Speaker 2: They do envy us! convert his popularity into a notable fol-
Speaker 1: And this is why they lowing on the new platform, where he still
hate us so much! They elect trash. has only 372 followers (even though he was
Especially Ukraine. The so-called released during the spring and continued
brothers. They used to be our bes- his media activism).
ties.
Speaker 2: My husband was Fakehouse, or Playful Disinformation
Ukrainian. Good that he didn’t live Clubhouse had a notable place for pranks,
to see this. mystifications, provocative titillating con-
Speaker 1: And now they are tent, fakes and eccentricity of a different
enemies. kind, too – not necessarily political. For
example, in a discussion room on the
However, the honeymoon of these gonzo 17th of February, someone who sounded
activists with the new platform did not last like the legendary pop-diva Alla Pugachova
long: already on the 2nd of March, the group talked to the audience and sang several
issued a video statement on YouTube calling hits. When asked how she managed to get
for the blocking of Clubhouse as a hotbed of an invite, she answered that her husband
immorality, chaos, and suicide (Meduza Maksim Galkin invited her, although the
2nd of March 2021). profile of “Pugachova” revealed that in fact
Unlike in Russia, Clubhouse discus- she had been invited by a young actress.
sions in Ukraine did not focus on moneti- Later it was confirmed that the session was
zation and protest coordination, and saw a prank with a fake Pugachova, although
zero interest or intervention from the gov- the personality of the prankster was never
ernment. Back in February, the Ukrainian revealed (Meduza 17 February 2021).
segment of Clubhouse was primarily repre- The general omnipresence of fakes
sented by journalists, IT, PR and marketing and their infiltration on Clubhouse would
specialists who discussed such themes as expectedly lead to a discourse on the issue
creativity, design, mental health, marketing on Clubhouse itself. And such a discussion
19BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
was initiated on the 19 th of February; the read their texts to each other while the rest
Russian segment was attracted to a show of the audience was expected to listen in
aptly titled “Fakehouse: Who, How and Why silence. If a living person started to talk,
Produces Fakes?” However, the line-up was the bots went silent and resumed recit-
more than unexpected in that its partici- ing poetry only after 10 seconds of silence
pants were themselves engaged in manu- in the room (Parfenenkov 2021). This case
facturing fakes. It included Ashot Gabrely- exemplifies the possible gap between the
anov, the founder and former editor in chief speakers and the audience, and the abil-
of the Russian portal and TV/channel Life- ity of the machine to impose a certain type
News, known for its numerous fake news of behaviour on the latter. It also questions
stories and manipulation (StopFake 2016), and explores the limits of the fake and the
Roman Chukov, who works at the founda- authentic: the recitals were authentic poets’
tion Roskongress, founded by the Kremlin voices that were assembled and enacted
under the personal auspices of Vladimir by fake bots. Eventually, the club ended
Putin (Roskongress 2021). The show was up entering the top 15 Clubhouse clubs in
moderated by Vladimir Tabak, who gained the Russian language with 4.5K followers;
notoriety in 2011 when, still a student, he however, converting this success into other
coordinated the publication of a calendar social media failed, for example, the club’s
in support of Putin featuring scantily clad Telegram channel lists only 156 followers.
female students of Moscow State Univer-
sity; he later worked in the team of the chief Big Little Liars:
Kremlin ideologist of post-truth, Vladislav Perception of Clubhouse
Surkov, as a supervisor of web campaigns The tripling of Clubhouse users in just 16
during elections (Ginzburg 2020). The show days drew attention to the new, oral social
was initiated by ANO Dialog, a Kremlin- network. Naturally, the first impressions
sponsored GoNGO created to monitor and and reactions spilled over into other, text-
react to negative social media content based social media. In the second part of
about public service, infrastructure and February, Clubhouse became one of the
local authorities (ibid.). In a way, this was a major themes in news and social media,
relevant panel to discuss the manufactur- particularly on Facebook. The reactions
ing of fake news from a first-hand perspec- ranged from delight to disappointment,
tive of practitioners who actually create it. sometimes about the same issue. On the
More seriously, it demonstrated the agility one side of the spectrum, Facebook users
of the Russian authorities in colonizing the praised Clubhouse for its “cosiness” and
newest media and attempting to set the “incredibly interesting and deep discus-
agenda there. sions” led by very young people and without
Other unusual broadcasts in the Rus- sexist jokes. On the other side, users were
sian segment were far more aesthetic and irritated by dilettantism of the speakers,
inspirational. “Dead Poets Society” – a room “jibber-jabber, giggles, scream” as general
named after Peter Weir’s 1989 movie – rep- impression from the talks, and prevalence
resents digital technologies in service of the of stereotypical themes: “The main life-
classics. It hosted bots who recited poetry hack of this season: the name of every cre-
by famous (deceased) Russian poets. The ated room in Clubhouse should end with
bots used actual voice records of recit- ‘and creativity’. For example, ‘Design and
als that have been preserved. The bot of creativity’, ‘Yoga and creativity’, ‘Accounting
Joseph Brodsky was the first one to be cre- and creativity’, ‘Constitutional Court and
ated on the invite of the club’s founder, IT creativity’”. Some Clubhouse neophytes felt
entrepreneur Nikolai Lebedovsky. This bot excluded and unwanted.
profile later used his invites to create bot
profiles of Anna Akhmatova, Sergei Yesenin, “My feelings when entering the
Vladimir Vysotskiy and others. The “poets” room with that orgy, business
20BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
meeting on a cosmic scale, or Some bloggers went even further, compar-
whatever in progress is that I am ing Clubhouse to an old wire radio point
the odd one out there. After enter- (the so called “brekhunets”, “the little liar”
ing someone else’s monologue, in Ukrainian) that during the Soviet times
everything I want is to click and functioned as a sound background at
leave, drop the phone on the floor, homes. For example, a former Ukrainian MP
turn it off, turn myself off”, wrote and popular Facebook blogger ironically
a well-known Ukrainian actress compared Clubhouse to the way his grand-
and TV host in a Facebook post. mother used to talk to the radio receiver:
Many users did not conceal that it was “ – Soviet pensioners are living
more important for them to showcase how better and better, the radio
well they keep track of the latest trends, said.
that they possess a new iPhone and have – So much better that we can’t
enough social capital to get a desired invite, even die, answered Granny.
or even to be invited to speak. The platform’s – General Secretary of the
exclusivity was another recurring theme Communist Party of the
discussed on Facebook and Twitter. Soviet Union, the Presidium
Lucky owners of the IOS devices ridi- Chairman of the Supreme
culed those who used Android and were Council of the USSR Leonid
“missing out on all the fun”. The Russian Illich Brezhniev announced
humorous historical Facebook group Stra- that Soviet people are already
dayushcheye Srednevekovye (“The Suffer- living in times of developed
ing Middle Ages”) published a meme based socialism, the radio informed.
on a painting One morning at the gates of – ...which means in the arse,
the Louvre by Édouard Debat-Ponsan that specified Granny.
depicted Catherine de’ Medici observing the – It is midnight in Petropav-
aftermath of St. Bartholomew’s Day massa- lovsk-Kamchatsky, the radio
cre. The painting was supplemented by the used to tell daily at 3 p.m.
following caption: “Year 2024. The Androids, – Why the hell should I care
finally, enter Clubhouse” presciently hinting about your Kamchatsk?,
that when owners of Android devices are commented Granny.
allowed to enter the app, it will have begun I don’t know whether the radio
falling out of fashion (Figure 2). heard Granny. I think it did a bit.”
On the other hand, some users tried to
dissociate themselves from the Clubhouse The arrival of a new platform focused
hype, stating directly that they do not take on voice and oral verbal communication
part in “the vanity fair” bragging of getting sparked a debate on language among social
an invite. “I was not invited into Clubhouse. media users in Ukraine. The debate revolved
Nobody fucking cares about me. I lost all my around the status of the coalescing Ukrain-
social capital among trendsetters some five ian community on the platform. Whereas
years ago I can talk in a nice and inter- some of those who wrote on the topic
esting way without Clubhouse. For money, admired the perceived high quality of the
of course. I don’t want to do it for free”, wrote Ukrainian language content on Clubhouse
a voice actor from Kyiv. and often constructed this in opposition to
Surely, the new format encouraged what they saw as more strategic, monetiza-
reminiscences and comparisons with older tion-driven and cynically exploitative Rus-
media practices. Some users rhetorically – sian content, others decried the small size
and nostalgically – asked who among and poor diversity of choices offered by the
their friends remembered getting invita- Ukrainian community, sometimes describ-
tions to Gmail, LiveJournal and Facebook. ing it as a ghetto:
21BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
FIGURE 2. “Year 2024. The Androids, finally, enter Clubhouse”.
A meme from Suffering Middle Ages dated 24 February 2021
22BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
telephony. Its unique offer is not a greater
“The difference between discus- reduction in distance, a closer contact or
sions in Russian and Ukrainian greater intimacy (after all, it is primarily for
is astonishing. They prefer to talk public conversations). On Clubhouse, we
about TikTok, sex, marketing and communicate but there is no greater con-
creativity. No politics or social tact compared to all other platforms, and
issues! Unlike the Ukrainian this is a no better substitute to unmediated
segment. Which is hot and free. human communication. The user experi-
Where the thematic breadth can ence for the speaker is much like speaking
please anyone’s taste – from sex on the phone; for the listener, like listening
to Zelenskyi”. to a radio show. If there is some unique offer
that facilitated Clubhouse’s spread, apart
“In some languages, like English from its novelty and exclusivity, it must be
or Russian, there really are topics. something else.
[Users] are looking for like- In order to locate it, one must con-
minded people by topics rather sider the mediascape conditions during the
than language. In the Ukrainian pandemic. For most of the middle-class
segment, people unite around white-collar urban professionals, these
the language rather than topic or were the conditions of distance labour relo-
interests. The word ‘ghetto’ comes cated from office to the private spaces of
to my mind but I don’t want to home. This was not voluntary for many but
think in that direction”. rather imposed by employers or the state.
The character of labour has also changed
Thus, the launch of a new media platform as tasks that required being present in the
became an element in the discursive con- office now had to be outsourced to home
struction of difference and national identity with the help of communication technolo-
(cf. Horbyk 2018). gies such as videoconferencing. An inten-
sive, radical and involuntary mediatization
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION: of work practices ensued. It was also cou-
CLUBHOUSE AS A ZOMBIE pled with a likewise forced mediatization of
RADIO, ANTI-PARTICIPATORY other, more informal and private practices.
CULTURE, AND THE RETURN OF Suddenly people were forced to mediate
THE PASSIVE AUDIENCE more and in situations where they had
The new platform landed in Eastern Europe never actively used media before. In Rus-
in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, sia and Ukraine, it was also complicated
and its explosive expansion was timed in by the confusion about the rules and their
between rather harsh lockdowns. This most changes. Extremely harsh lockdowns (espe-
certainly affected the appeal of the plat- cially in Ukraine, where even the metro was
form and the way its use spread. However, closed for several months) were followed
we disagree with the early analysts who by periods of rapid relaxation, when almost
posit that it was Clubhouse’s authenticity all establishments (restaurants, bars and
and human contact that made it popu- clubs, theatres, cinemas, museums) were
lar. While attractive on the surface (it was open again. White collars, previously con-
indeed about voice, listening to others and fined in the office, gained more control over
informal communication – a deficit com- how they work, which also made new por-
modity as of 2021), this perspective does tions of previously working time during the
not hold under closer scrutiny. Clubhouse is day available for audiovisual media use (cf.
designed exclusively for oral communica- Bick et al. 2020).
tion over distance. In this respect, it has no Heavy daily use of conference call
advantages over conference calls (Zoom or platforms for work communication (Zoom,
Skype), Facebook lives, radio or even voice Google Meet, Skype, Teams etc) normalised
23BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
live interaction over long distance in the strongly conditional, and a choice to remain
form of a collective conversation where passive and inactive is at least as much
everyone connects from their own sofa and encouraged as to be active. Curiously, this
device. A common feature of this interac- leads to what seems to be the return of pas-
tion, however, was video that could be and sive audience and the monological model of
often has been disabled (by simply turn- communication, almost mass communica-
ing off the camera) but in the vast majority tion, whereby the select few communicate
of contexts was required. This proved to to the many. Politically, this also heralds a
be exhausting, especially in long sessions less participatory model as seen from Car-
(Fauville et al. 2021; Shockley et al. 2021). pentier’s perspective, as users are clearly
Clubhouse became like Zoom without separated into those having power and
video. Its rise was prepared by the nor- influence over decision-making in content
malization of Zoom-style video-conference creation, and those who mostly consume
communication but driven by its unique the content on offer.
offer of long-distance collective commu- While this minimalist asceticism
nication without the visual component. On that reduces options instead of extending
Clubhouse, there is no need for prepara- them may appear restrictive, in the world
tions, presentable clothes, lighting, and where boundaries are ever more fluid and
background. One can connect from bed or hybridised, new options are daily heaped
bathroom without need for any explana- on top of the extant ones, and everyone is
tions, in pyjamas or even naked without encouraged to produse content and inter-
any consequences. One does not have to act, Clubhouse offers relatively strong
endure eye contact and get stressed about boundaries and clear, well-defined roles,
how one looks on the screen. Rather than and does not impose a requirement to
adding new functions, removing the video participate but legitimises the right to be
option altogether created the unique offer passive, which may have been perceived as
that made Clubhouse a welcomed addition refreshing and liberating especially against
to the lockdown mediaspace. Essentially, the background of the imposed require-
it filled the niche of an informal audio-only ments to actively communicate via Zoom or
conference call. other video conference calls. At the end of
Furthermore, Clubhouse established the working day, it must have been a relief
a clear boundary between the creators for many to tune in and just listen to oth-
and the public. While the listeners may ask ers talking without having to do anything by
questions, this is moderated by the host, themselves while still partaking in a com-
and only speakers are encouraged to talk mon mediated experience. Thus, the new
as a rule. If a user has very few followers, it niches created by a post-pandemic media
makes no sense to broadcast; one has to ecology were filled: the audio cum video
be an influencer or be invited by an influ- conference call for work (Zoom and the like,
encer host. This makes Clubhouse a less requiring active participation); the evening
optimal space for produsage. The platform video streaming for entertainment (Netflix
was apparently designed with the idea of an and alternatives, passive consumption); and
influencer in mind, and designed for con- the audio-only conference call mostly for
tent creators. At the same time, Clubhouse’s relaxation (Clubhouse, mostly passive con-
affordances do encourage a certain passiv- sumption).
ity. You do not need to like, share, or com- The minimalist asceticism seems an
ment on anything as there is no such option even more clearly pronounced feature of
at all. There is no need to write anything at Clubhouse if one considers that it radi-
all either, apart from name and bio during cally eschews multimedia and, in general,
registration. You can likewise quietly enter any form of intermediality. Like Malewicz’s
and leave without hosts being notified. suprematist painting, the expressionist the-
You can be audible and active but that is atre that removes the scene to the bricks of
24BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2022 / VOLUME 10 / IN FOCUS
the back wall, or Grotowski’s “poor theatre”, monetizing the new fad. The aura of exclu-
Clubhouse discards the medial richness in sivity and novelty made a Clubhouse invite a
favour of the purity of monomedium, limit- desired good, which opened the way for an
ing communication to the barest, minimal invite market and pyramid-like schemes of
essence albeit capturing it with the cutting- obtaining one. Clubhouse was also quickly
edge, smart Apple hardware. From the per- politicised and made relevant in the politi-
spective of media archaeology, Clubhouse cal spheres of Ukraine (as a new platform
can be construed as a remediation of radio. for news organisations to broadcast, and for
It is focused on live, real time vocal commu- journalists to comment and influence poli-
nication of hosts and invited speakers that tics) and Russia (as a tool to organise and
is broadcast to a (largely) passive audience. connect in a more repressive environment,
Like radio, it is live and, as of early 2021, was but also used for governmental propaganda
unrecorded, capitalizing on the audience’s and disinformation). The novelty of the
fear of missing out. But unlike traditional medium also stimulated experimentation,
radio, it has no central studio or broadcast- and a number of initiatives explored the
ing facility, which is reminiscent of guerrilla authenticity of voice and vocal communica-
radio pirates active in the Eastern bloc dur- tion, from staging broadcasts by celebrity
ing the Cold War, in that it is communica- impersonators to rebroadcasting records of
tion between several broadcasters located long-deceased poets. The new medium also
in different places with the possibility sparked a strong reaction, which ranged
for many more to listen to it. The similar- from admiration to denial, with many
ity also extends to the matter of choice of nuances of opinion in between.
whether to be a listener or a broadcaster. The authors analysing the launch of
This decentralization enables a comparison Clubhouse often repeat that its lightning
with the media form of a conference call, success was due to the high authenticity
and essentially suggests a conclusion that of vocal communication against the back-
Clubhouse is a remediation of radio modi- ground of the pandemic. However, a deeper
fied with those features of conference call look and a media theory perspective sug-
that are stipulated by contemporary tech- gest that Clubhouse is a remediation of
nological conditions (decentralised internet radio modified with certain features of a
connection and prevalence of portable and conference call and podcast. Therefore, it
handheld communication devices). There is not persuasive from a theoretical stand-
are also certain features (digital format, point to ascribe a special authenticity or
orality, clearly defined roles) that make it intimacy found in neither radio nor confer-
a partial remediation of a podcast, with ence call to a media form that is cognate of
the exception of liveness and simultaneity. both. Rather, the fast burst of Clubhouse’s
The liveness itself was a mixed blessing for popularity is owed, from the remediation
Clubhouse during its launch since, while perspective, to its domestication of the con-
enticing the audience not to miss interest- ference call (too ubiquitous during the pan-
ing talks, it discouraged investing in content demic) into the intimate sphere of leisurely
one would have liked or needed to revisit conversation. This humanization of the
because the content disappeared without conference call (ironically, a Zoom meeting
a trace. with a human face when no face is shown)
was supported by the rejection of interme-
CONCLUSION diality, encouraging the liberating passivity
In late winter – early spring 2021, Club- of the audience, and drawing clear borders
house’ popularity spiked in Ukraine and between the roles of speakers and listeners.
Russia. It started its spread from IT and What is, then, the future of Clubhouse
media professionals (especially in Ukraine) in Eastern Europe? Since Clubhouse is
as well as finance and influencers (espe- not moderated in a centralised way, it has
cially in Russia) who tried to find ways of the potential to become a platform for
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