This new StartUp takes the power from paparazzi and puts it into the hands of the fans of celebrities.
The creators of the popular movie website Trailer Addict and “Home Improvement” actor Zachery Ty Bryan recently launched a fan-celeb photo sharing social media site called FlashMafia which is essentially a crowd-source depository of photos fans have taken of and with celebrities.
It was birthed out of necessity, Bryan tells us.
Screenshots of the Flash Mafia celeb-photos crowdsource sharing social media network and co-founder ‘Home Improvement’s’ Zacharey Ty Bryan
“We noticed the interaction of fan-shared celeb photos on social media and wanted to create a forum to share all of this content,” Bryan said. “I have spoken with colleagues in my business and what bothers them is the fact that paparazzi follow them throughout the day—often in packs—not giving them any privacy. ”
But celebs have a more favorable reaction to fans when they request a photo.
“They realize that fans are what make them who they are, and are usually willing to take photos with them,” Bryan noted.
He and his partners quickly went to work on creating the platform that capitalizes on an existing practice, but would empower fans instead of the papps.
“There is a huge upside to a fan snapping a quick, non-intrusive photo with his or her phone—which is happening already—as opposed to being bombarded by the paparazzi,” Bryan explained about the platform. “FlashMafia incentivizes a better way for fans and celebs alike.”
The idea is to eventually drive paparazzi out of business and to “shift to more consideration for the celeb.”
And so far, the concept has been met with some approval from fellow celebs.
“We have been surprised by the amount of submissions for being such a new application.” Bryan added. “We average 100 submissions per day and then we have to vet the photo and its origin.”
The incentive to fans is that they get to split a share of the revenue from the license fees FlashMafia gets from blogs and websites that use the photos.
Nice…and Smart!
