TubeChat - social ice-breaker app for the London tube
by Startacus Admin
Innovation in messaging thanks to the social ice-breaker app for the London tube TubeChat, that's aiming to connect people in a disconnected world...
Whether we in today’s world are more or less connected or isolated depends on whom you ask, but most would agree that one-to-one, personal interaction is at an all-time low. You can have a best friend on the other side of the world whom you talk to online every twenty minutes; your options aren’t limited to the strange people in your immediate vicinity. But online, distant connection lacks things that talking to someone in person gives us. One place where we may feel this most keenly is the London Underground, where commuters are jammed together with many others, but still distant.
Startup HelloHub has launched its first messaging app, TubeChat, to take advantage of this situation and turn it around. The app utilizes smartphones’ built-in systems to connect with other users within 30 metres in areas that have little or no mobile signal or wi-fi.
The app can be used for anything from venting frustration with other commuters over the delay to playing games to asking out that one with the blue eyes four seats down. Privacy and profile settings allow users to set how much others can see about them, of course, to keep things safe. The app could even be a good middle ground or stepping stone for socially anxious people who are good at communicating online, but less so in person.
The London Underground isn’t the only place the technology can be used, of course. Places such as festivals or indoor events or even disaster areas are all in need of a messaging platform that doesn’t rely on the traditional networks.
Currently, TubeChat is only available for iOS, but early-stage funding and moving on to pre-seed will allow the team to complete the Android version in early 2019 and start releasing other products.
We think they'll be right on track for that too...
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Published on: 18th November 2018
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