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The app that lets you pay to control another person's life
- stinos 5y agoSo basically like chaturbate [1] and similar, but applied to daily life and without the nudity/sex aspect? I wonder how they plan on keeping that out since their terms [2] (seem to) mention they don't allow that. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturbate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturbate [2] https://newnew.co/terms https://newnew.co/terms
- bserge 5y ago"Visit my Onlyfans for extra control" :D
- alpaca128 5y ago> I wonder how they plan on keeping that out It wouldn't surprise me if an established NSFW platform adopted this feature as well, drawing away the people with those interests. And as the app developers have this rule from the beginning at least they're spared the backlash that Tumblr experienced when they banned nude content out of nowhere, paired with a content filter biased towards false positives.
- rntksi 5y agoThat feature you are speaking of, is already found on live cams websites I kind of agree with your sentiment on this and I believe it will end up, sooner or later, into what you described.
- elric 5y agoHopefully without the annoyance of people "directing" performers without being willing to pay them ... which is something that often happens on websites like chaturbate. It's bizarre how manners go out the window as soon as someone's naked.
- stinos 5y agoWould be interesting to figure out how large the role of the being naked part really is though. I can imagine the same 'directing' would take place on NewNew: when I first learned about the existence of chaturbate I went to have a look and I have to admit I was quite baffled by what went on there. Not really a pleasant experience actually. Even though I had the impression some performers really enjoyed it and were into it not just for the money, I couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling for the rest it was just poorer people being exploited. And the 'directing' was like vultures circling around reasoning 'well, the rest pays already, so I'm just going to ask anything I want without paying myself'. I would be surprised if that mindset would also not pop up when clothes stay on.
- 45ure 5y ago>NewNew is the brainchild of Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Courtne Smith. The app, which is still in its "beta" or pre-full release stage, describes itself as "a human stock market where you buy shares in the lives of real people, in order to control their decisions and watch the outcome" The 'mission statement' seems to suggest that the platform is adding an extra layer to commoditise the celebrity/personality and their lifestyle, by solidifying ephemeral contact built via other channels, into a direct-to-consumer approach, who then become investors and/or stockholders? There is also an overlap on features of other established networks, so it will be not be easy to carve out a niche. Nonetheless, it seems like a warped enough concept to achieve some success, despite contributing further towards the erosion of society and burning or reviving the careers of some wannabe/z-list celebs, amongst others.
- kuu 5y ago> "It may not take long for a creator to go to more and more extreme lengths to attract votes from their followers, ending in potentially self-damaging or humiliating scenarios" We've seen this on Twitch with streamers doing "marathons" for getting more subs and therefore money... The model for this app clearly will force the creators to do more "interesting" or "risky" questions to grab attention. If it gets enough traction , it's not going to end well.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y agoIs that really much different than what employers ask of us?
- interlocutor2 5y agoYes because there are myriad laws preventing sexual harassment, physically dangerous practices, minimum wage, etc
- brbsix 5y agoLivestreamers have it bad enough already when they allow viewers who donate to play audio or TTS over their speakers. Here is one hilariously tragic example with a Seattle livestreamer who went by the name "Arab Andy" while in a UW classroom. Hint: it landed him in jail. https://www.bitchute.com/video/VOI9sw3MmDM/ https://www.bitchute.com/video/VOI9sw3MmDM/
- Moosdijk 5y agoHim filming the people running away and laughing might have contributed to him going to jail.
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- bserge 5y agoFunny, I was thinking of a very similar idea. I don't care much about most things, and I have a huge problem choosing or making up my mind. Why not crowdsource it? I'm surprised people would pay you for it, but maybe not that surprised if you give them more control over yourself. Like doing something they say, wearing a dumb T-Shirt they send or recording yourself shouting something in a crowd (actually, there were people on Fiverr doing this already, just not in an embarrassing way).
- forgotpwd16 5y agoThis is just like Instagram's story polls (a subset of basically) but requiring payment to vote. I'm impressed they could actually monetize that.
- ktpsns 5y agoFor anybody looking for the link to the app: https://newnew.co/ https://newnew.co/ Unfortunately, there is no website/web frontend/web app. I think I am too old to understand why people try to force you to install their app instead of providing at least some fallback website.
- squarefoot 5y agoBranding and taking control of your terminal to get more data about you. With a browser you click on the same icon then reach the desired page, and if the browser employs some form of ad blocking or malware filtering, a webpage can't do much to scan your device for interesting personal data. An app is quite different for being an executable you installed on your device after it requested access to everything, so they manage to get both their icon on your start screen and also run their code on your phone, which is of course a huge security and privacy hole.
- dreen 5y agoProbably the target demographics dont really use non-mobile computers
- thinkingemote 5y agoWebsites can and do have adblocks and tracking protection.
- jonas21 5y ago1. Push notifications. Unless you were constantly checking the website, how would you know whether someone is running a poll? If it's something like "what sort of food should I eat?" I doubt the poll is open for very long. 2. Payments. Being integrated into the in-app purchase system is a much faster and smoother experience than asking for a credit card number. And some people are not going to want to enter their credit card number into a random website to vote in a poll.
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- bsenftner 5y agoThis will be huge in porn: what panties should I wear? and so on. For celebrities whose product is sex appeal, this is their killer app.
- stinos 5y agoThis is already a thing, see my other comment. Not sure if it is huge though.
- giantandroids 5y agoSo I pay someone to have a chance at influencing what type of sandwich they might have for lunch?
- alphabet9000 5y agoUhhhh i was gonna say what i really think about this app but... if u want me to say something nice first send $1 (venmo @johnromero44) but if u want me to really go off on it cough up $5 i will be waiting for 5 minutes thanks
- alphabet9000 5y agowow a success, $5 received via NewNew HN Comment Plugin by Venmo, thanks to D.K. for paying to control me. i started to wonder about the app after reading reviews for it and the reviews not matching up with the description of 'NewNew'. it seems like people have had it on their phone for years when it went by the name 'Suprize!'. it used to be some kind of free giveaway game app, promoted by musical artists on their instagram, but switched late last year to NewNew. as other commenters (who downloaded it to see what it was about) have said, people that already have a following are the only ones that can be 'controlled'. there's a contrast between the way the app is exemplified in the article, vs the landing page in the iOS store. the BBC article uses contrived controlling behaviors example such as 'voting for an artist to paint a painting in a certain color' while the iOS app store shows a more realistic example of voting whether a girl should 'leave him' or 'msg him' - this fits in nicely with present day culture. but it immediately makes you wonder whats next; there's no reason for the antics to just stop there... cranking up unethical behavior is where something like this will really shine and become wildly successful. it even hints at what's to come in the form of voting on 'pranks' in a screenshot of users on the app, one of which is asking whether 'he should fill vinnies room with packing peanuts?' [0]. i can see an even more successful path forward for newnew if they eventually remove the limitation of only allowing beautiful or popular people from being controlled, to literally anyone who is willing to live stream something extreme and immoral (yet legal!!!) for a fee. bid on a random person with nothing to lose willing to go up to someone else and perform a 'prank' (use your imagination) -- stuff that people with a reputation on the line might not be willing to do. as other commenters have also pointed out, that seems like where this kind of thing is headed inevitably. these thoughts were paid for by D.K. sorry there isnt more i spent too long enjoying reading the very entertaining reviews [1] for when the app was still called Surprize [0] https://i.imgur.com/eoXSZ7v.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/eoXSZ7v.jpeg [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/newnew/id1327683895#see-all/reviews https://apps.apple.com/us/app/newnew/id1327683895#see-all/re...
- magicroot75 5y agoOnly fans but for power instead of sex.
- qntty 5y agoWhich is actually far creepier, since power is really about sex and sex is really about power.
- contravariant 5y ago>For many of us that sounds a bit ominous, but the reality is actually far less alarming. >"NewNew feels a bit like if TikTok met reality TV hit Big Brother and they had a baby" There's no chance this isn't exactly as alarming as it sounds is there?
- adventured 5y agoIt's not alarming, it's merely despicable. It shouldn't alarm (which requires surprise) anybody given the condition of the rapidly collapsing culture in the US, it should be entirely expected at this point. It's pop culture narcissistic sleeze taken to the next level. It'll keep going, keep getting worse, until society has had enough and begins to reject it. Take this thing and make it worse, take it up a notch, someone will eventually find success with that, and so on it will spiral. Until then, the US will continue to plumb the depths of how far a culture can erode before a bottom is discovered.
- system16 5y agoWhy single out the US? TikTok wasn't even made here and it - along with Facebook, Instagram, etc. - are popular worldwide.
- durnygbur 5y agoOk the internet and mobile ecosystem are irrevokably broken, rewind to 2009 and start again.
- tomcooks 5y agoWeb is a lost cause, go to inconveniently placed platforms if you want to find peace, freedom and lack of commercial drones
- faeriechangling 5y agoSo like a SFW camgirl app?
- contingencies 5y agoIf that's not how they pitch to VCs, it should be.
- moshmosh 5y agoI only know of Twitch from reading about it, but it was my impression that's exactly what Twitch is. (well, one of the things it is, and a major one, anyway)
- hermannj314 5y agoI am anxiously awaiting the day we do this for politicians. A new political party whose beliefs, policy platform, speeches, and votes are tied to constantly evolving real-time demands of its app users (err...constituents) I would vote for any candidate that committed to letting its registered users decide every vote he or she made.
- ioseph 5y agoThat's several direct democracy parties where I live but to date none have won a seat. It's an interesting concept but I can think of many ways it could go horribly wrong (think Reddit with the marathon bombing). Also wouldn't such a system still be beholden to lobbying groups (possibly more so)?
- avereveard 5y agoWe have had one direct democracy party reach majority and form a government with hilarious results. The moment they had power direct democracy ideas died. In a single term they found themselves at government with the left, the alt right, then a large coalition, then a technical government. They should have self financed the direct democracy platform using their salary, and basically stopped doing that most immediately. The platform holder dragged them to tribunal, and party ownership is currently undecided.
- mstipetic 5y agoWhich country/party is that? When did that happen?
- wolfpack_mick 5y agoThe FiveStar party in Italy did this. They had an online platform for their members, and apparently the way it went was that they'd first massage everyones opinion in the forums, and then let them vote. I read it in a great long read from Wired called 'What Happens When Techno-Utopians Actually Run a Country'.
- teachingassist 5y agoThis reminds me of "1000 True Fans" https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ Many creators have super-fans but fail to monetize them. The expected model (the only model?) for doing so is that you sell out to advertising. You have fans who are willing to pay for what they are getting, but your fans don't have any way or any nudge to pay for it. This business reduces the friction by directly inviting super-fans to pay for what they're consuming. I don't like it for myself, but I expect it's a good and potentially transformative business model.
- ORioN63 5y agozyper.com which was adquired by Discord, tried the same approach, but I think there was always the issue of the advertising platform. The biggest public forums now-a-days are org-owned online platforms. Even if you have amazing content creators, you still have to find a way to co-exist with the platform, controlled by giants. I too, see value a potentially transformative business model, but it still seems a hard place to start in until you've achieved a good enough network effect. Disclaimer: Worked for Zyper.
- Hitton 5y agoPutting aside the getting paid part, it reminds me of cult classic novel "The Dice man", which I read about here few years ago, except instead of chance, people choose.
- TeMPOraL 5y agoRE headline, isn't this what the gig economy already is? Apps like Uber, Deliveroo, etc. are apps to issue API call against a pool of human workers. (And the rating part is where you get to have pretty disproportionate impact on another person's life.)
- williamdclt 5y agoI think that's drawing a parallel between too distant lines. You can also argue that this is what employment is: your employer pays you wages to control what you do with your life, it's not wrong but it's not particularly helpful to the discussion I think
- GuB-42 5y agoIt is not distant at all. You pay someone to do stuff, that's what a job is. The "control another person's life" aspect is pure marketing talk. From the look of it, it is not unlike patreon, intended for artists, they can make polls and have paying users vote. Users can also pay for special requests. It looks like some people are using it reality TV style "where should I eat next?", why not, after all, reality TV actor is some kind of work too. Just like the 18+ version that is already all over the web.
- mhb 5y agoYou can also argue that that's what politicians and lobbyists are.
- alisonkisk 5y agoPallelel property is unaffected by distance :-)
- kiliantics 5y agoI mean, employment in general is paying to control someone's life
- TeMPOraL 5y agoIt is indeed, but only in recent years there was an app for that.
- RGamma 5y agoThis seems even more idiotic than TikTok, so it is bound to be very successful.
- datavirtue 5y agoLet's call it "Social Media Successful" where lots of people pile on (platform profits) with a subsequent avalanche of unintended fucked up consequences (public bears the cost).
- weeblewobble 5y agoI downloaded this app to see what it was all about and I found it completely incomprehensible.
- patrickwalton 5y agoThis ranks highly on the Black Mirror scale (how many Black Mirror episodes could be written about it).
- 7373737373 5y agoRelevant: K. Mike Merrill, "the first publicly traded person": https://kmikeym.com/ https://kmikeym.com/ https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/meet-the-man-selling-influence-over-his-personal-life-decisions/59dfaf21177dd4340d4e1fb1 https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/meet-the-man-selling-infl...
- samirillian 5y agoThe title literally describes all Uber-for-X apps.
- ww520 5y agoThis is basically outsourcing decision making to others.
- mikro2nd 5y agoIndeed. Decision Making As A Service.
- clarge1120 5y agoFascinating how much attention this simple app is getting. What is driving the attention, the app, or the entrepreneur behind it?
- daedalus2027 5y agoAm I the only one thinking about black mirror right now?
- munificent 5y agoElevator pitch: It's not the principle-agent problem, it's the principle-agent solution!
- greggman3 5y agoBefore I read the article I assumed this was the plot of the movie "Gamer" except for real. In that movie (ruined mostly by a horrible ending), players control their in game avatar but those in game avatars are real people.
- system16 5y agoCurious, I downloaded the app. The feed I was presented with was 90% girls in low cut tops, and everything is paywalled until you pay for votes. If you want to become a "creator" (so you can run your own polls and make money), you need to join a waiting list where they will analyze the follower count of your other social media accounts to ensure you are worthy. The (iOS) app itself was annoying to navigate without a native swipe back gesture. Amazing that it has so many 5 star reviews. Ultimately, the BBC article and amount of 5 star reviews this app has screams to me PR company media blitz to generate buzz, and nothing about this seems organic.
- jendefig 5y agoUgh. Just as I suspected. The pure idea of it has merit. It could be very helpful to true creators to get feedback and develop community. But there's a lot of risk of base instincts and abuse of others for one's own anonymous entertainment. It could turn sick fast.
- akomtu 5y ago"It is aimed at what it calls "creators" - writers, painters, musicians" The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Very soon the app's investors will realize that there's no money in musicians, but appeal to lowest animalistic desires - power, greed, lust - is where all the money are. The app will morph to cater to that: it'll become more addictive and more extortive, i.e. more "engaging" in the corp double speak. Investors will get massive returns, the crowd will get another amplifier of their lowest desires.
- alisonkisk 5y agoThey goes for everything, from YouTube to Twitch to massage parlors to maid service. The only difference is what standard the platform enforces.