Secret World adds local business roles to creator network

Secret World is expanding its creator community by giving local businesses new ways to participate through deals, jobs, memberships, events and storefronts. The move is meant to make local discovery more useful for creators and businesses without pushing businesses to the center of the app.

Why it matters: - Secret World is trying to turn creator discovery into a two-sided local network, where businesses add practical value instead of just buying ads. - The change could help creators find more work, deals and opportunities nearby while giving local businesses a new way to reach people who already have influence in their communities.

What happened: - Secret World said it is expanding the way local businesses can participate in its creator community. - The app is adding a business role inside its ecosystem, alongside its existing Creator Cards. - Creator Cards give people a public identity that shows what they do, where they are and how others can connect with them. - The company framed the product around a simple idea: people should be easier to discover for what they can do.

The details: - A restaurant can offer a creator discount. - A store can post that it is hiring. - A gym can introduce a membership. - A café can show a menu. - A car wash can offer a slow-day discount. - Businesses can maintain a digital storefront so people can see what is happening there without relying only on a traditional social media feed. - Secret World describes the model as a local participation loop. - Creators bring identity, skills, activity and local influence into the network. - Businesses bring places, products, deals, jobs and experiences into the network. - Each side is meant to create more reasons for the other to participate. - As more useful information enters the network, Secret World says the app can become more useful without requiring every interaction to start as an advertisement.

Between the lines: - Secret World is positioning businesses as support for the creator community, not as the main attraction. - The strategy suggests the app wants discovery to feel more like a live local marketplace and less like a social feed built around algorithmic reach. - The company is betting that creator identity plus local commerce can reinforce each other and make the platform harder to ignore.

What's next: - Secret World is developing the business side of the community. - The company expects the creator-and-business network to make local discovery more useful over time. - Secret World says the goal is to keep creators at the center while opening more opportunities for businesses to be discovered. - The company says people should not be hidden behind algorithms.