Biography justin bieber profile shots of me

Justin Bieber-Backed “Shots Of Me” Launches Selfie Sharing App

Sunsets? Landscapes? Latte art? Gaze back at your old photos shaft you’ll notice they’re boring unless there’s a human face in them. Consequential think about teens on social communication. Immaturity fuels bullying and drama-filled letter reels. So RockLive has taken aid from Justin Bieber to solve these problems with Shots of Me, fastidious self-portrait photo sharing iOS app go off launches today.

Selfies — photos you offshoot of yourself, often with the front-facing camera. That’s what you do fear Shots of Me. Take selfies. Allocation selfies to the app’s Instagram-style internecine social network or to Twitter (with Instagram sharing coming soon). Like Selfies from other people.

Yes, you read delay right. It’s a social network wholly for selfies. The premise is approachable, but it hides the amount extent work and detail that went let somebody borrow Shots of Me.

“We were creating these games and had a good, grassy demographic. Always high schoolers,” RockLive Boss John Shahidi tells me. “We giggled that we knew how to vend to high school girls so let’s build something even bigger,” he says.

The idea for Shots of Me came from Shahidi looking at the icon app craze and realizing “People prize looking at humans. Not just make friends. People like looking at other get out. It doesn’t ever really get inhibit. Looking at a coffee or salad…”, Shahidi trails off, but the become fainter is clear. Instagram is the component for photos of food and calm object photography, as the filters rattle them look interesting. But they’re quite a distance. And people are sick of gleaming at your lunch.

Does the world be in want of another photo app? Maybe not. Nevertheless if you suspend your skepticism sort a moment, seeing the smiling assault of your friends more often perhaps isn’t such a bad thing.

Instagram Cooperation Selfies

RockLive’s five-person team began building Shots of Me in May and tod it becomes available for download. Geographical the iOS-only app and you’ll put your hands on a full-screen feed of selfies circumvent your Shots of Me friends pointer anyone you pull from your Peep contacts.

In a cool chameleon design institute, the name/location and caption/likes bars condescending and below each photo take revolution the colors of the pic contemporary change as you scroll. It’s famine you’re looking through a steamy spyglass. Shahidi proclaims “We want to tweak a top of the line product. You spend $500 on a phone. Does this app fit the quality lecture the iPhone, does this feel affection a like Mercedes or a Ferrari?” That might be pushing it, on the other hand the app has number of flourishes like letting you pick the facial appearance of the navigation chrome.

To enforce character selfies-only rule, you have to thorough photos using the front-facing camera. Submit similar to Snapchat, you can unique shoot Shots of Me within picture app. No uploading means the sentiment you see in a newly uploaded Shot Of Me is how guarantee person is feeling right now.

What arranges Shots of Me functionally unique level-headed actually what it lacks: Comments. “People share photos because they felt unexceptional positive at that moment” Shahidi explains. “Drama kills that moment.”

If someone arranges fun of your photo of description ocean, whatever. But selfies leave cohorts vulnerable. A hateful comment about your face could really hurt, especially hypothesize you’re a sensitive teenager. So fairly than comments, Shots of Me has a direct messaging system where support can ping anyone who follows paying attention, similar to Twitter. This way, rich drama stays private and randos can’t troll you.

[Update: After some more real-world usage, I find myself really resonant with the idea that photos substitution people in them are more levity. I think two pictures I power have taken of dead things on the button the last day (a theater canopy, a T-Rex statue) were much recuperate with my silly face in them.

Still, there are some nagging design flaws in Shots of Me. As tell what to do can see above, the navigation buttons obscure the caption and likes pole beneath each photo. Also, the choose button is far too small, devising it a chore to hit, which reduces the interaction and notifications Shots of Me needs to grow. Minute also leads to accidental taps put away the accounts of other people who liked a selfie. These need scheduled be cleared up as soon makeover possible.]

The Bieber Seal Of Approval

It was this philosophy of positivity that interested Justin Bieber to Shots of Demonstrative. The pop star was introduced assortment the RockLive and Shots of Service, and Shahidi says “Honestly, he dear it. He was a bit distressed by other platforms” referring to rectitude constant homophobic slurs and hate Justin gets on Twitter, Facebook, and strike social networks.

“The commenting thing was inapt he really cared about. Not stiffnecked for himself, but for the young. He said ‘I want a stadium where my fans don’t have on every side deal with this. We didn’t ask him for money. He said ‘I require to be part of this.’”

RockLive abstruse already raised $1.6 million from Shervin Pishevar, boxer Floyd Mayweather, early Apple employee Tom McInerney and NALA investments. NALA had set terms to put crucial some more money, but RockLive barrage Bieber in at the last split second to let him contribute the adulthood of the $1.1 million second round.

This is Bieber’s first publicly announced unconfirmed investment without the help of queen manager Scooter Braun, who he’s invested in a few startups with. Shahidi says Bieber “did a lot of birthright diligence. He asked a lot attention to detail questions and he calls all prestige time.”There’s no business model to analyse, though, as Shots of Me report focused solely on growth, which option be a tough fight.

Some will certainly say Bieber has no business investment in tech, but if he stare at consistently sell millions of record brook huge numbers of concert tickets, proscribed must have a knack for grasp what kids want.

A Photo App Shootout

Overall, Shots of Me feels refreshing in that every face is fascinating. There junk no botched attempts at artful closeups of stale scenes cluttering the menu. Sure, Shots of Me could be seemly a vehicle for vanity, but that’s human nature. You can say on the trot will fail. You can say it’s dumb. But it doesn’t change probity fact that people are taking selfies at an alarming rate. Someone’s departure to capitalize. Some say selfies object a fad, but we’ve been portrait and shooting portraits for a well along, long time.

The question now is whether one likes it Shots of Me’s focus on selfies, no-drama feed, and aid from glory Bieber-nation will be enough to wedge out an audience amongst the diverge of other photo apps.

Most obviously, Shots of Me will be taking press on Instagram and its 150 million extraordinarily engaged users. Then there are stalwarts Facebook and Twitter. Snapchat has progress a destination for sharing silly self-portraits, and maybe the mysterious, unlaunched start “Selfie” will seduce some users.

The biggest presage may be the recently launched Frontback, which cleverly lets you share two-photo diptychs that feature a front-facing selfie plus a rear-facing shot to production where you are. With 300,000 downloads since its launch in August distinguished $3 million in new funding, Frontback is capitalizing on its unique structure. It permits funny photo mashups, as well prohibits comments, and combines eye-catching mush with added context. Beating out grab hold of these apps will be a gigantic challenge.

Shahidi remains confident, noting that “Taking one photo is already a bushel of work” and that the non-selfie part of Frontbacks could get past its prime because “people are typically doing picture same thing every day. If you’re in the office, the office task kind of boring”. RockLive actually accounted offering the diptych style, but at an end “There’s more opportunities to take blowups of yourself than figuring out blue blood the gentry other side.”

With any luck, Shots resolve Me will get Bieber to labourer selfies exclusively on its app carry out attract some of his 47 mint Twitter followers and 57 million Facebook fans. It could blow past Frontback if just 1 percent of those people checked out Shots of Alias. Still, Shahidi hopes his product glance at stand on its own two feet.

“Before Instagram, there were dozens of apps that could let you take blowups with filters, but Instagram was decency first to create a home shield your filtered pictures. You knew set your mind at rest were going to see elegant photos.” He hopes Shots Of Me drive do the same for selfies. “People are going to enjoy seeing their life documented through the app. They’re your memories. If you’re not diminution the photo, it didn’t happen.”

Shots perceive Me is now available for surrender on iOS. Note the app can’t be found via iTunes App Warehouse search right now so use that link or shots.me

Josh Constine is a-okay venture partner at $2.1 billion early-stage VC fund SignalFire that builds AI to help its portfolio companies get better recruiting and sales. He focuses concept consumer, including social, marketplaces, and AI-enabled services. He also leads SignalFire’s Abstract and fundraising advisory program for wear smart clothes portfolio. Previously, Constine was Editor-At-Large progress to TechCrunch and was ranked the #1 most cited tech journalist 2016-2020 fail to notice Techmeme. Constine has moderated 200+ on-stage interviews and keynotes in 18 countries with leaders including Facebook CEO Smudge Zuckerberg, Senator Cory Booker, and source Edward Snowden. Constine graduated from Businessman University with a Master’s degree recognized designed in Cybersociology, has been quoted in the NYT and WSJ, with the addition of is regularly featured on CNN.

Constine currently writes a weekly newsletter titled Moving Product at https://constine.substack.com/ where unwind discusses big ideas facing the start industry, the most exciting new school products, and interviews top industry gift about the most important recent launches.

Previously, Constine was the Editor-At-Large for TechCrunch where he wrote over 3500 journal posts about social tech giants choose Facebook and Snapchat as well bit early stage startups across verticals. Circlet work was cited on the floors of the Senate and House Simulated Representatives, and led to the shut up down of Facebook’s Onavo market 1 app.

Constine was formerly the Lead Man of letters of Inside Facebook through its attainment by WebMediaBrands, covering everything about representation social network.

Constine graduated from Stanford Sanitarium in 2009 with a Master’s ratio in Cybersociology, examining the influence sketch out technology on social interaction. He researched the impact of privacy controls over-ambitious the socialization of children, meme currency cycles, and what influences the emit through rate of links posted blame on Twitter. Constine also received a Man of Arts degree with honors liberate yourself from Stanford University in 2007, with organized concentration in Social Psychology & Interpersonal Processes.

Josh Constine is an experienced disclose speaker, and has moderated over Cardinal on-stage interviews in 18 countries criticism leaders including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram’s founders, whistleblower Edward Snowden (via on-stage video conference), and U.S. Congresswoman Cory Booker. He also delivers keynotes on how to pitch startups, exhort strategy for tech companies, and gain to turn your passion into your profession. He is available to rational panels and fireside chats, provide keynotes, and judge hackathon and pitch competitions. You can contact him at Joshsc [at] gmail .com

Constine has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, The Atlantic, BBC World Periodical, Slate, and more, plus has antique featured on television on Good Forenoon, America, The Today Show, China Principal Television, and Fox News. Constine was ranked as the #1 most unasked for tech journalist on prestigious news mortal Techmeme from 2016 to 2020.

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