Q&A: SaysMe’s Lisa Eisenpresser

Earlier this week we briefly mentioned that a new company called SaysMe had raised a first round of funding. The company helps regular people get their political ads on television, which sure sounds like an open can of worms to me! To find out more about how this might play out, we spoke with SaysMe co-founder and CEO Lisa Eisenpresser, a long-time online media entrepreneur.

An edited transcript follows.

NewTeeVee: When did SaysMe go live?

Lisa Eisenpresser: Right before the Pennsylvania primary we ran the first ad.

NewTeeVee: I read some criticism of an anti-Obama ad that ran there.

Eisenpresser: The platform is non-partisan. We hope to have pro and con; it’s important to us to stay neutral and to promote free speech. We’re a microcosm [of political persuasions] internally.

NewTeeVee: But the service could end up being dominated by partisan people of a particular persuasion — are you doing anything to make sure it stays balanced?

Eisenpresser: Yes, we are working toward ways of doing that. We are very sensitive to being neutral — we will attract ads from both sides of the aisle and the middle. With SaysMe, I would like to increase the number of messages and the nuances of those messages.

NewTeeVee: How will you ensure that the people who place ads are actually who they say they are?

Eisenpresser: We check it against your credit card, and we are going to be reporting to the FCC.

NewTeeVee: Don’t you worry that giving more people better access to getting their messages on TV is ripe for abuse?

Eisenpresser: Yes, by removing the barrier to entry we may incur other problems.

NewTeeVee: Do you reject any user-submitted ads?

Eisenpresser: They have to meet our technical specifications — it has to be broadcast quality.

NewTeeVee: You already have a number of local television distribution arrangements made — how will you be expanding those?

Eisenpresser: We’re working very closely with Comcast and Time Warner, and we basically have our pick of the cable networks.

NewTeeVee: Do they have some investment in the company?

Eisenpresser: Not at the moment. We really think that cable is the future of where user-generated content is going. We’re trying to reverse the migration and bring content from the web to television.

NewTeeVee: So who has invested in you to date?

Eisenpresser: We’ve closed this round with Intel Capital, Ashton Kutcher’s Catalyst Films, and Prime Capital, and Bill Apfelbam. All people who are very strategic.

NewTeeVee: How did you choose and attract those investors?

Eisenpresser: Bill was an investor in Sunshine Direct [her previous company, which is in the infomercial and direct response space], and was very passionate, and made these introductions. And Ashton, obviously he’s a visionary in reality television. He’s a very very intelligent guy who wants to make content for us.

NewTeeVee: Has he done that already?

Eisenpresser: No, but that’s obviously coming down the pike.

NewTeeVee: So what’s the next step?

Eisenpresser: The next step is to tell the world this is this place they can come to to express their opinions and create content.

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