On first glance, it looks like a digital newspaper of your social life, organized on Pinterest. After you spend some time on the site, it becomes clear that it's much more than that.
Although people are great at updating social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, their personal websites are a constant source of embarrassment. Berry told Mashable, Rebel Mouse brings it all together.
"When I was chief tech officer at Huffington Post, people would constantly come to me asking me how to build a homepage," Berry said. The only answer he had to give is that it was really hard. He knew, however, that it should be something that was easy to do.
Rebel Mouse lets you connect your Facebook and Twitter to a homepage that constantly refreshes itself. You are also able to rearrange posts so that you have a level of editorial curation that supersedes what Facebook and Twitter alone provides.
While the website only allows for Facebook and Twitter integration at launch, Instagram and Tumblr will be integrated in "three to six weeks, max," according to Berry. Also coming soon to the service is an increased ability to see what other Rebel Mouse users are doing.
In the longer run, Rebel Mouse hopes to monetize organically by providing businesses an e-commerce platform, allowing people such as photographers and fashion designers to sell their wares in a dynamic, visual way. Another form of monetization they plan on is sponsored content.
"I hate display advertising," Berry told Mashable. "Brands are dying to become publishers, but they know that they are bad at it. Rebel Mouse should help them be good at it, and help them engage with influencers as well."
The platform is also working on a native iOS mobile app, which it has unique plans for. "We're going to allow people and businesses to launch personalized iOS apps using our platform." Berry told Mashable. These apps will allow people with large personal followings as well as businesses to create native apps that allow fans and followers to track what they do in the social space in a centralized location.
"It'll be a reasonable price point," Berry said— something around $20 a month to have an app, and then an additional $1-$3 a month.
A basic Rebel Mouse account will always be free, Berry said, but if you want your account pointing to a personal domain name, you will need to pay $3 a month. If a business wants to use a Rebel Mouse in a personalized way, they'll have to pay $3 a week, which comes out to be just over $150 a year.
So is it more of a publishing platform, or a social platform?
"The magic is in that it's both," Berry told Mashable. "A social platform where you are just reading doesn't feel right. A publishing platform that isn't social is frustrating."
Currently, Rebel Mouse is in beta, and you need to get on a waiting list to join. Will you try it out? Let us know in the comments below.
Rebel Mouse
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