E.L.D. Cornerstone.  Life in words & pictures

April 14, 2015

Photographer and filmmaker Suzanne Heintz became a viral hit when her photo series “Life Once Removed” -- satirical portraits of one women with a family of mannequins -- gainedmedia popularity in 2014. But the very tools that were making her famous -- Facebook, YouTube and many others -- were also making her uncomfortable by cluttering her work with banner and pre-roll ads that didn’t pay her a dime. "I don’t want my viewers to be distracted by 1,000 different ads and trying to click them away, and I don’t want other people controlling who I can and cannot reach based on clicks,” Heintz said in an interview. Enter WeAre8, which is pitching celebrities and artists -- including Heintz -- on a new social network that puts them in control over the advertising and hands over 80 percent of the revenue. The startup, with $4.5 million in funding and support from celebrities like Usher, Jamie Oliver and Shepard Fairey, launched in invite-only beta on March 12. Since the Wall Street Journal reported the debut, the site has been building its content with a mix of 250 celebrities and advertisers creating content.

It is akin to Tidal, Jay Z’s music streaming service, in that both are attempting a reset in the way content creators are compensated. WeAre8 plans to release the site out of beta in April and have its advertising system launched in May. “We’re giving you a beautiful storytelling frame and helping you drive and build an audience. We will help you make money with everything you’re doing,” WeAre8 co-founder Sue Fennessy said.

Heintz said she is abandoning YouTube, where partners make about 55 percent of revenueand have limited control over advertisers. “What I like about 8 is it seems to be fair and equitable,” Heintz said. “It hasn’t been proven so I don’t know how much I can make yet, but it’s certainly in my favor to be able to connect visually as well as vocally.”

In addition to creating content profiles, users on WeAre8 will build advertising profiles where they describe interests and can blacklist any brands. A peer-to-peer method will connect companies and creators and provide an online method to negotiate deals, similar to AngelList for investors and startups. If creators wish to play a less active role, they can choose for WeAre8 to negotiate. “When people accept ads from brands or artists on this platform, they are effectively becoming ambassadors in an authentic way. The relationship becomes real and respectful,” said Shepard Fairey, famed graphic designer and WeAre8 launch partner. This bolstered relationship between the advertiser and the creator attracted Boris Jordan, president and CEO of The Sputnik Group, to lead the company’s seed round. While the peer-to-peer model can require more effort on the advertiser than simply buying into Google or Facebook ad space, Jordan said he sees great benefits in WeAre8 such as the site’s analytics.

Fennessy also runs Standard Media Index, which provides a backend data system for many top media companies, and is using that to power WeAre8. Along with Fennessy’s 20 years of advertising experience, co-founder Beth Haggerty brings knowledge in building and growing a social network. Launched in 2008, Haggerty’s Ology gained attention forconversations on shared interests, namely cult television shows, and reached 30 million users before it was sold to an unnamed California company.

A version of Fennessy's and Haggerty's fair revenue sharing model has been tried. Tsu, a social network promoted by rapper 50 Cent, launched with a similar mission in October, attracting a million users in five weeks. The site is still active, though some have declared it as just hype. “Tsu is dead."