It’s not always a great sign when celebrities start pushing new social networks – Justin Bieber’s investment in selfie-network Shots of Me is a prime example of this – however, when more than one Technorati start sharing posts from the same network, it gets you thinking. Recently, it’s been Mindie, the social network that lets you upload music videos about your life, that has got a lot of people talking.
Taking care of Bizness – http://t.co/kocZvaqHqY
— jack (@jack) November 27, 2013
The first tweet came from Twitter & Square founder Jack Dorsey, channeling some Randy Newman’s “Taking Care of Business.” In the video is a cameo appearance from none other than Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. No big deal, just Twitter’s co-founders playing around with a social network, I’m sure they do that all the time, right? (Nope.)
If you haven't Mindie'd yet, get on it. http://t.co/gymzqRl2Wo And send me your best.
— Michael Arrington 🏴☠️ (@arrington) November 28, 2013
The next tweet comes from Mike Arrington, a simple plea to users to ‘get on it.’ If you’re wondering how TechCrunch got its reputation for breaking startups’ servers by flooding them with new users, it’s this guy right here who built that reputation. You can bet that more than a few people got on it,
What DOES the fox say? http://t.co/Jmqi4fYIv2
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 28, 2013
Lastly, we see that celebrity investor Ashton Kutcher is sharing a beautiful mix of the internet viral hit What does the Fox Say. Kutcher, who’s known for keeping his investments quiet in order to not attach his name (and a bit too much attention) to the companies he backs, got nearly 200 retweets from this, and, again, I think Mindie got a few new users.
The final point: these tweets all happened within 24 hours of each other, and I’ll bet my bottom dollar that Mindie co-founder Gregoire Henrion is not far from those posts when they happen.
https://twitter.com/gregoirehenrion/status/404068468212781056
Henrion’s most recent tweet, over two weeks ago, is entitled “Good Morning” and features what looks to be a panoramic of San Francisco in the SoMa district (feel free to correct if you figure out where exactly it is).
So what does this all mean?
A social network “made in France” is getting attention in the Silicon Valley. I wrote just yesterday that France doesn’t support ambitious startups (like social networks with no business model), and the rumors are that Mindie is raising a round of funding in the Silicon Valley after having had doors shut on them in France. The startup, which is part of Paris accelerator TheFamily, it seems, is still out in the Silicon Valley (just look at where the Mindie’s are flowing in from), and is also likely not getting doors shut on it in the Silicon Valley, because if you can convince Twitter’s cofounders to tweet your social network onto their social network, there’s a good chance you’re not just demo-ing the product.
Mindie is social, it’s mobile, and it’s music – and if these Technorati have their way, it might just be the next big thing.