Former President Donald Trump has been in talks with obscure app vendors about potential partnerships to create his “own” social network, Axios reports.
Trump and adviser Dan Scavino are focusing on the obscure app platform FreeSpace, according to the report, though they have had discussions with several “no-name” companies.
FreeSpace, which has only been downloaded about 20,000 times, is a social network that says it focuses on the “power of positivity.”
“FreeSpace's Culture is rooted in VRS (Value Reward Systems). Incentivizing, highlighting and rewarding good habits and healthy online interactions,” the company’s website says, billing the platform as "backed by science to positively reinforce good habits & make the world a better place."
The site also talks about "FINDING COMMON VALUES and highlighting them, so people become 'addicted' to doing good. FreeSpace encourages the public to share the daily actions & content they believe will add value to their lives and model healthy habits for others to duplicate."
The app features an “Activity Wall” similar to user feeds on other social platforms and group messaging.
Why FreeSpace?
It’s unclear what drew Trump to the app. The app is owned by Jon Willis, who also owns Skylab Apps, a platform that pairs users with coaches and trainers.
FreeSpace often runs ads by Willis’ other companies -- marketing agency Matchstick Media and Arizona sports facility Legacy Sports USA -- on its platform along with ads for other products like “frozen yogurt, IV therapies and diesel exhaust fluid.”
FreeSpace was launched on the Apple and Google Apps stores in February.
Deal not done:
The deal is not finalized and the Trump team is still in discussions with other companies.
"It could be any of several companies, with more meetings this week," a source told Axios.
“It's unclear how this business relationship would work. Trump is famously averse to putting his own money into companies, preferring to license his name and use other people's money to fund his ventures,” Axios noted.
Trump adviser Jason Miller teased Trump’s own social network in an interview with Fox News earlier this week.
"I do think that we're going to see President Trump returning to social media in probably about two or three months here, with his own platform,” he said on Sunday.
