Startup social media aggregator Fancloud.com has signed a partnership deal to become part of Fox Sports' Yardbarker network of sites. The California-based Fancloud.com compiles and curates tweets and sports news articles from more than 2,500 sources, and will supply content to Fox' Scout.com destination that is planning to rebrand to FSN. Fancloud.com also is planning an entry into a Bleacher Report-style original content model buttressed by user submissions. Under a new publishing model being developed by Fancloud.com, users will pay $50 for a lifetime pass for the ability to be published on the site and get syndicated within the Yardbarker network. Fancloud.com then will award equity in a new publishing subsidiary to 16 top-performing writers in 0.25% increments over the course of the next year, capping at a total distribution of 49%. "We're obviously encouraged by the Bleacher Report model and what they sold for (to Turner), but we want to take the model and allow top writers to share in that," said Fancloud.com CEO Terence Gelke. Fancloud.com carries a current valuation of $1M after an initial seed funding round.
