New social network Tsu shares ad revenue with content creators
New social network Tsu launched with little fanfare on October 14. The social network has had a cash injection of $7 million from Sancus Capital Prive and other investors before launch.
The company was founded in 2013 by tech entrepreneurs Sebastian Sobczak, Drew Ginsburg, Thibault Boullenger, and Jonathan Lewin.
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Tsu differentiates itself from Facebook and newcomer Ello because it aims to reward its users. It displays ads and promises to pay its users for contributing and sharing original content.
It also is not precious about who joins its network. If you have a short code, you can join. If you know someone else’s short code (mine is eileenb) you can create your own account on the network.
The premise is simple. The more interesting content you create which gets shared, the more money you make. Early adopters can get in early and take advantage of its relatively clean interface, small set of users, and limited spam.
The follow stats are impressive. After less than 24 hours on the network, I have gathered a few followers and generated several comments and likes from people I did not know. I used hashtags to find and be found. I like the way Tsu works so far.
So what does this mean for business influencers and brands? Tsu keeps 10 percent of the revenue it earns from its ads. It gives the other 90 percent to its content creators and the people that share posts.
If you are social and share quality posts you will get paid cash. Tsu works with organic reach. It rewards influencers who publish content and who have lots of friends.
Tsu represents a social monetisation platform for content. You can invite people to join the network. These users will become your “children”. Any people they invite will become their children and your “grandchildren”.
It is a bit like the MLM concept of pyramid selling, however Tsu is all about content. Tsu’s algorithm automatically tracks, measures, and distributes revenue to the appropriate user and their family tree of children and grandchildren.
The network wants you to create your own network and control it. It also wants you to receive revenue for the original content you own and post.
90 percent of revenues are distributed to users. To maintain the platform, Tsu receives 10 percent of revenue. It uses the term “infinite thirds” to describe how it allocates its revenue. Here’s how it works:
From $100 revenue, $90 is shared with users. If four users have shared and re-shared content, the revenue is split like this:
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The original content creator receives 50 percent of the remaining $90; in this case, $45. The first user to share the content gets 33.3 percent (one third) of the original $90 generated. In this case, $29.70.
The second degree user, who shares the re-shared content, receives 11.1 percent (1/3 of 1/3 = 1/9) of the original $90 generated. In this case $9.99. The third user (think your third degree connection) receives 3.70 percent (1/3 of 1/3 of 1/3 = 1/27) of the original $90 generated. In this case $3.33.
Its a very cool way of sharing revenue – surely something that other companies might be interested in copying.
Tsu wants its users to be able to monetise all of their content through sharing. According to Billboard, Tsu founder Sebastian Sobczak says: “Why should anyone commercially benefit from someone else’s image, likeness and work giving no financial return to the owner?”
Will Tsu provide its users with the features that other networks cannot? It certainly seems to have enjoyed significant buzz just one week after launch. Ello, which shot into the news the other week, appears to be slipping in its popularity if Google searches are anything to go by.
Most users who share and like content will not see their Tsu revenue increase by more than a few cents. But brands that produce awe inspiring, buzzy, great content will reap the rewards as their content ripples across the web.
Some users and influencers will make a lot of money. Brands might be able to justify some of their marketing investment. Most users — who only click to like and share — might find that Tsu is not the super platform they hoped it would be.
But for those who take the time to produce well-crafted, original content, this might be the platform they have been looking for. I will certainly shift my focus away from Facebook to give Tsu some quality social time.
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