Maisie Williams is already preparing for life post-Game of Thrones and like her character, Arya Stark, she's proving she's not afraid to tackle new challenges. This summer, Williams, along with co-founder Dom Santry, will launch Daisie, a new social media app that has promising potential for women working in creative industries.
"[Williams and Santry] share a belief that social media leads the forefront of artistic distribution, and that there should be a better way to represent creators and help them gain exposure and guidance in their desired fields," says a blog post on the app, which is named after Daisy Chain Productions, the production company the two founded.
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Daisie sounds like the lovechild of Instagram, Bumble Bizz, and LinkedIn: It will be a space for creatives to find mentorship from others in their fields and connect over new business opportunities, while also fostering a collective appreciation of the arts. Early mock-ups of the app show that users will be able to create profiles that showcase their recent work.
Although Daisie might share a similar social foundation with other apps, it does plan on setting itself apart from the competition in several distinct ways. Anyone who dislikes Instagram's current algorithm may find Daisie more appealing. A post about the app's design says that it aims to counteract "the visual noise associated with other social media platforms," through "chronological timelines, simple content discovery and a completely ad-free experience."
The app will be free, but will include the optional purchase of a "Plus" feature that will "unlock parts of the site and enable new features such as the ‘looking for work’ toggle," Santry told Refinery29 over email. When the app launches in August 2018, Daisie will support five creative industries — film, photography, music, fashion, an art — but, according to Santry, there are already plans to add more in the future.
Though the app was first covered on an on-site blog post in February 2017, the formal announcement today feels especially timely in light of recent scandals that have highlighted the imbalance of power in the entertainment industry. With its promise to democratise the resources available to both new and existing artists, Daisie seems well positioned to disrupt Hollywood's current power dynamic. Williams nods towards this potential in today's press release:
“I couldn’t be happier about the change we are currently seeing in creative industries and the movement towards women becoming truly valued. I want Daisie to give other creatives the opportunities that I was lucky enough to receive at the beginning of my career. Daisie will break down the archaic gap between youth and creative jobs; offering new opportunities for individuals to collaborate, learn & create — establishing a new way for talented individuals to be discovered and employed.”
It isn't yet clear how the app will accept new users, but Santry said the team is working on a verification system and ways to prevent trolling. To stay on top of updates leading up to the app's August release, sign up for emails on Daisie's website.