The Clubhouse Investment Boom: The Information’s Tech Briefing

Just when you think the stock market excesses couldn’t get any crazier, along comes GameStop. In the space of a few hours today the stock, which was trading at $20 two weeks ago, more than doubled to a high of $159 before collapsing back to $76.79.

Like a lot of other stocks bouncing around like a yo-yo lately—video-streaming service FuboTV comes to mind—trading in GameStop is reportedly driven by individual investors discovering it through websites like Reddit. Who can blame these people for looking for some excitement? Stuck at home in a pandemic, everyone is looking for some diversion. That same instinct is also juicing interest in Clubhouse, the fast-growing online conversation service that is absolutely perfect for the pandemic. You can catch up with old friends or connect with like-minded people or listen to celebrities talking as if they were on stage in a theater, all without fear of catching Covid.