She’s the pop powerhouse dressed in those unforgettable costumes. He’s the Executive Chairman for the web’s largest search engine. Though worlds apart, Lady Gaga and Google’s Eric Schmidt now have something in common: They’re both investing in a new startup called Backplane, co-founded by Gaga’s business manager, Troy Carter.
The platform, which already has $1 million in venture funding, will power online communities around specific interests, such as musicians and sports teams, and will integrate feeds from Facebook and Twitter, reports the New York Times. Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures holds the most significant shares, while Gaga owns another 20% of the site.
Carter came up with the idea for the site after he and Lady Gaga were asked by Steve Jobs to provide feedback for Ping, Apple’s music-focused social network, according to the Times. After listening to Jobs’ reasoning behind the site, Carter believed he could cook up a better way to help artists maintain a web presence – with Gaga’s help, of course. Not only is she an investor, but she’s also lending her creative talents, incorporating features from her music videos and tours to bring “authenticity” to the design. (In Gaga terms, that basically means we can expect something like this.)
The pop queen is already a force on the web. In May, she became the first person to reach 10 million followers on Twitter, and she recently teamed up with Zynga for GagaVille.
Maybe she’ll even convince Schmidt to sing a celebratory duet with her after the site launches sometime this month.
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