Using Clubhouse as the end-all for social audio does the "space" a disservice, IMO. I used Clubhouse early on and it fell squarely into every single trope and commentary that everyone here is posting about it.

Much later, I was introduced to "Cappuccino" [1], a social audio app that couldn't be more different from Clubhouse. It's slow-social (you only get updates once day (the cappuccino composed of 'beans' that everyone submits). Each audio update is capped at 3 minutes (though you can submit as many as you'd like), and you can attach a photo if you'd like. The app auto-adds some generic intro/outtro music and production cleanup and combines it into a single podcast-like update.

I've found myself using this pretty actively with small groups of friends. The audio-first approach makes it easy to just talk about something (an idea, a life update) for a few moments (low cost to participate). The production value and once-a-day update makes it feel like a nice 'ritual' to receive everyone's updates. The intentionally asyncronousness emphasizes listening and thoughtfulness against trying to hop on to a comment thread. It honestly feels like sending postcards/letters out to folks... but audio. Can you do this as an audio group text? Kind of, yes. But that's like saying "you can recreate instagram by sending photos over whatsapp." Yes, but that misses the point.

I'm not affiliated in any way with them but I think they're a very neat counterpoint to Clubhouse in terms of "social audio" (and slow vs fast social).

[1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cappuccino-stay-in-touch/id150...