Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams is the latest celebrity to jump into the tech game. This week, the actress announced Daisie, a social networking app aimed at connecting up-and-coming and established creatives. The platform, which Williams co-founded with film producer Dom Santry, will officially launch this August.
“I want Daisie to give other creatives the opportunities that I was lucky enough to receive at the beginning of my career,” Williams said in a statement. “Daisie will break down the archaic gap between youth and creative jobs; offering new opportunities for individuals to collaborate, learn and create — establishing a new way for talented individuals to be discovered and employed.”
The idea is to create a collaborative atmosphere where young photographers, artists, musicians, filmmakers and designers can find jobs, gigs, career advice, and mentorship through organic connections. Think of it as Tinder (minus, hopefully, all the unsolicited nudes) plus LinkedIn with a dash of Instagram. While the app’s most basic features will be free, a pay-for-play “Plus” feature will unlock certain parts of the site, including the covetable “Looking for Work” area.
The company is reportedly working with talent agency William Morris Endeavor to assemble a roster of established talent to participate in the launch. There’s no word yet on how the rest of us can get in on the action, but Santry, who will serve as CEO for the company, told TechCrunch that a verification system is in the works to prevent trolls from accessing the platform.
“Social media can be a very lonely place, and somewhere that doesn’t necessarily inspire collaboration or foster meaningful connections,” he said in a statement. “It’s very easy for creative voices to get lost in platforms riddled with ads and unimportant content; we’re hoping to eradicate these, providing a focused, industry specific platform.”
Williams also hopes that Daisie will make it easier for women and minorities to break into the highly competitive and often connection-based fields.
Thankfully, Williams isn’t completely abandoning Hollywood for Silicon Valley. Though she recently lamented the shallowness of the film industry to The Irish Times, saying “it’s sad that you only get to see one type of beautiful on screen,” she is slated to star in the upcoming X-Men spinoff series New Mutants, which is due out in early 2019.
