If you thought Facebook and Twitter were all there was when it came to social networks, watch out, because teens are likely logging into a new place you’ve never heard of.
The new network is called Pheed, and it was launched late last year with an aim to evolve the experience and bring the best of the other social networks under one roof, while offering the current generation more access to brands, bands, and celebrities than ever before.
We’ll be completely honest: upon signing up, this writer had never felt more uncool in his life.
Sure, he’s a hardcore geek, and when he went to school, geekdom wasn’t exactly a celebrated thing, but Pheed’s requirement to have you follow a few other Pheeders that you recognise actually made him feel a tad shy, as there were few he knew.
That said, your kids or teenagers won’t probably have that problem, and with names on it like Miley Ray Cyrus, Banksy, Nas, Linkin Park ranking as the known ones, as well as a bunch of lesser known actors and musicians we had to Google to find out about, it stands to reason that this is a network for Generation Y and Z (this writer is a bad example of Generation Y).
Once you have an account, you can do most of the things normally done on any other social network, including adding text, images, video, and sound.
Each of these starting points is called a “pheed,” and similar to Facebook’s posts, people can respond to the pheed with a “pheedback,” or even share what someone else has posted with a “remix,” which is a little like a retweet on Twitter.
Each pheed post can – with pheedbacks – eventually resemble a long post and story where other people – followers and friends – can talk to each other.
And like Twitter, there is a character limit, but Pheed gives you 420 to work with, instead of Twitter’s 140.
You can connect Pheed to Twitter and Facebook, so whoever using it isn’t doubling up and writing the same message across several services.
While the social networking side of Pheed is obviously important, and we’re sure that there are people out there who will no doubt prefer a selection of 420 characters than Twitter’s miniscule 140, Pheed has something else going for it: events.
Imagine you’re throwing a party, and you have somehow convinced Good Charlotte’s frontman Joel Madden to play, fresh off his stint from the TV show, “The Voice.”
You’re hyped, the guests at your party are hyped, and now you have tons of people itching to see the concert who won’t be there but wish they could be.
Pheed offers the option to broadcast an event live like a “pay-per-view” program, complete with a charge. You can stream something live for between $1.99 to $34.99 to followers, a charge they each pay, and Pheed makes its money by taking 50 percent of the proceeds, sticking the rest in your account.
We’re not sure how many of Pheed’s users will be taking advantage of the broadcasting option, but we can imagine celebrities will be showing parties and special gigs, making some extra money from the streamed events.
And for some lucky not-so-celebrity-status people that have garnered enough followers, there will probably be ways to make a little money, too.
For parents, Pheed looks like it caters to the tweens and teens more than it does the little ones in your life, so if you have a social networking policy in your home, it might be worth talking to your kids about this and seeing if they use this service too.
As of the time of publishing, Pheed could only be accessed from online at its website and with an iOS app, though an Android app is in development.
