While the transient audio conversation format is novel - Clubhouse lacks the key ingredient that makes social networks so powerful at scaling - the ability to generate sticky social capital and signal that capital effectively. They could perhaps succeed if there was some way to port the kudos a user receives from contributing to a rousing conversation into some marker attached to a profile signaling that this persons contribution warrants recognition.

Agreed. That’s why I suggested the pivot. It explains how its novel solution can become a permanent revenue generator.