SocialRank is publicly launching a way for brands to peek at their competitors.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
Michael Kovac / Getty Images
When SocialRank — a New York City–based startup that lets users analyze their Twitter and Instagram followers and is rolling out a new tool today — looked at which Twitter accounts early adopters wanted to spy on, the most popular choice (after major brands) was venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
"His account is crazy. It's everyone from Glenn Beck and Tyra Banks to Justin Bieber's mom and what's-his-name from the New York Times, Paul Krugman," SocialRank CEO Alex Taub told BuzzFeed News. There are also notable exceptions, like the founder of Y Combinator. "Paul Graham doesn't follow Marc Andreessen. I think [Andreessen is] probably clogging his feeds?"
SocialRank's first product was a dashboard to help people track their Twitter followers, sorting them by location, interests, algorithmically determined "value," engagement, employer, influence, and even keywords in their Twitter bio. If you follow a sizable number of people, SocialRank offers an easy way to track down that woman who works at Pinterest when you can't remember anything besides the color of her avatar, or find all your followers in Mexico City if you're going on a trip. It's the kind of simple data that Twitter still makes impossible to search. SocialRank's revenue model, however, is focused on customers like Nike, Sony Music, Paramount Pictures, Red Cross, and Harvard University, who get even more exasperated by how hard it is to study a huge group of followers.
Today SocialRank is publicly launching a tool called Market Intelligence — in beta until now — that will let customers do the same kind of analysis, except with the ability to compare it to other Twitter accounts. "If you're Nike, you can run Puma. If you're Airbnb, you can run Hilton and Marriott," Taub explained. "It feels a little like you have access that you shouldn't have." (Market Intel for Instagram is on its way and already being beta-tested by social media celebs like Fuck Jerry and Crazy Jewish Mom.) In order to test-drive Market Intel for Twitter, SocialRank is offering users the chance to test their own account for free — and compare it to Andreessen's.
Taub checked with Andreessen before including the investor as a freebie, assuring him that SocialRank is merely repackaging publicly available data. "I also didn't want the most powerful man in Silicon Valley to be upset about it," he said.
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