If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated at the thought that you can’t share in the results of Twitter or Facebook’s efforts to monetize social media, fear not: There’s an app for that. The only catch? You’ll have to join yet another social network.
UberMedia, the company behind apps Echofon and Twidroyd, has created new social network Chime.in, which aggregates user posts—or “chimes,” as they’re being called—around interests, rather than a specific timeline. More importantly, it offers users two options to sell advertising for themselves and profit from their own content.
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The idea’s simple: Users can choose between UberMedia selling ads using existing posts, with revenue being shared 50-50 with the creators of those posts, or selling ads themselves and keeping all revenue earned. “I never thought there would be an opportunity as big as keywords,” UberMedia CEO Bill Gross explained, “But social signals are so much stronger than search terms.”
UberMedia has already managed to get companies like Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Corporation signed up for the new service, which Gross denies is a competitor for Twitter users; instead, he says, “This is more of something where you can dive into your passions.” And, of course, profit from them.
Chime.in’s iPhone app is already available, with a website, Android and Blackberry apps to follow soon.
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Graeme McMillan is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.