Is Pheed The New Twitter?
Hand-picking features from a wide-range of the most popular social networks across the web (from Facebook, Tumblr, SoundCloud, to of course Twitter), ‘Pheed’ is all set to become the new Internet darling; having already picked up over 250,000 unique users and celebrities alike in just days, with Paris Hilton, David Guetta, Miley Cyrus and Chris Brown a few noteworthy names.
A self-funded start-up that looks to follow in the steps of those it has borrowed so heavily, Pheed is a ‘social media platform’ arguably most influenced by Twitter. It allows users, or ‘pheeders’, to share all forms of digital content - from text, photo, audio, video and even live broadcasts – to those that follow 
Miley Cyrus was one of Pheed's first big celebrity attractions. She's since picked up over 20,000 subscriptions.them. Consumers of the content itself will get updates from the channels they subscribe to, but can also choose to only receive updates depending on the type of content it is, such as just live broadcasts.
But whereas Twitter has struggled to monetise its untapped gold mine of 140-character tweets for years, Pheed has a business plan in place from the get-go, which will no doubt come as a big incentive to investors who want to buy into the platform early on. ‘Pheeders’ have the option to share content for free or at a premium rate; either by charging a fixed monthly-rate fee to subscribe to the channel, or in charging their subscribers one-off pay-per-view fees for live broadcasts. Users will receive half of all revenue they make (with the other half going to Pheed itself for hosting, payment processing and overheads), while they too own all of the content they produce, and have the freedom to charge what they want – within the $1.99 to $39.99 per month/per view bracket at least.
“There is an app evolution that has taken place in the last 18 months - 'download this for photos,' 'download that for video' - but it’s all segregated, why? I never understood that. With Pheed we want to unify the user experience under one platform: Text, Video, Photo, Audio, and Live Broadcast, with a modern day interface that’s simple and easy to use. Our hope is that on Facebook you will connect with your friends, on Twitter you will follow your interests, and on Pheed you will express yourself – in all possible digital mediums.”
OD Kobo, Pheed’s CEO and Co-Founder
Whether Pheed’s users will be inclined to pay for content they could otherwise receive for free on other social networks is unclear to see at this time. As Pheed’s user-base grows, and its ‘Pheeders’ begin to understand what kind of content works and does not work – the ‘quality’ of content will surely improve, if nothing else - only then will the true value of this, yet another social network, become apparent.
Richard Birkett
Sign up at Pheed.com
