

MessageParty (YC S10): making the social anti-social since 2010 - inmygarage
http://thewhatnoise.blogspot.com/2010/08/messageparty-making-social-anti-social.html

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makeramen
I like the concept a lot. Here's what I see as it's advantages over striking
up face-to-face conversation:

1\. the other people actually want to chat -- If the other people are signed
on, then they're looking to chat and you're not interrupting the guy trying to
read the paper.

1.5. the other people are also on messageparty -- which is a filter in itself,
especially at this point. like begets like, and the chance of engaging
conversation multiplies.

2\. it's mass broadcast -- you're talking with everyone, not just one person,
so you're more likely to find one person interesting among everyone at your
location. I find this a much better than the "live" alternative of "speed
dating" everyone at certain location just to engage in conversation that both
parties actually care about.

3\. people are uninterruptible -- just try getting 20 people talking in a room
at the same time in the same place and still understand what's going on. with
text chat, everyone's writing is on the screen and you don't miss a thing.

4\. distance is relative -- sure, the hot chick 2 seats away from you in class
is literally only 3 feet away, but the douchebag stranger between you two
obviously won't appreciate being bothered.

5\. as a student, i would totally use this in class -- sometimes you miss what
the prof said, sometimes you just don't care what the prof says, or you want
to find some tech-loving geeks to be in your study group

PS: for the founders -- please release for ipod touch and ipad wifi! we have
(approximate) location abilities too!

~~~
woodall
I also think releasing this to the other iGeneration of products would be
nice, however:

For iPod touch with Maps, the Maps application provides your approximate
location using information based on your proximity to known Wi-Fi networks
(when on and available). The more accurate the available information, the
smaller the circle identifying your position on the map. The feature is not
available in all areas. Known Wi-Fi networks are predominantly in urban areas.
In order to provide your location, data is collected in a form that does not
personally identify you. If you do not want such data collected, do not enable
the feature. Not enabling the feature will not impact the functionality of
your iPod touch.[1]

Google dishes out money to have people drive around all day and take pictures.
Hell, I'll walk around all day with a laptop and gps dongle to log wifi spots.

The iP(ad)ods do not have the GPS like the phone. That is the only issue I see
for releasing it for them. Maybe a zipcode/area select feature would come in
handy? Sort of like Facebook groups but for specific locations. You could use
YellowBook/Google Maps/Mapquest/Pay Service to help provide the business data
for that area.

[1] <http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/specs.html>

~~~
makeramen
I'm well aware the ipod touch and the ipad wifi both have location services
based on wifi networks, and like you said, they're inaccurate outside of urban
areas, but that's also where population density drops off and human-proximity-
based apps like this are less applicable. precisely why i think it would be a
great idea to go ahead and release for other 'idevices'

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apsurd
From the founders comment (in the comment section):

 _"...Sometimes people are curious about those around them but it's socially
unacceptable to just go up and chat. So those meetings never really happen."_

I can't think of an instance where it's more socially acceptable to poke at a
phone keyboard than to talk with a human being face to face. Maybe in a movie
theater? Maybe at 24 I'm already ridiculously too old to understand the
greatness of texting/chatting but ... it's pretty rude?

From the homepage:

    
    
      Concerts and Sporting events : 
        Shouldn't you be enjoying the event with the people you went with?
    
      School : 
        Students should be learning not chatting. 
        It's also rude and disrespectful to the teacher.
    
      Mall:
        I guess this is valid for tweens or something.
        If I was a virtual-chatty-cathy,
        I would be more comfortable at home than with people on the run at the mall.
    
      Airport :
        Lot's of time to kill okay this is valid! (though still sad) =(
    

I am really trying to understand this product but at the moment, as others
have stated, this is pretty sad.

~~~
inmygarage
Hey there thanks for your comment. I am the founder. So I think we've all
learned that socializing on the internet is acceptable (ie meeting people on
online dating sites, or on message boards, etc.) and what we're trying to do
is bring those sorts of interactions to the mobile device. While I admit it's
a bit weird to think about now, seeing how the product worked at YC Demo Day
was really interesting - we had 200 people in a room and it's hard to talk to
all of them at once but the "backchannel" provided an interesting additional
medium to interact with people.

~~~
paul9290
cool service. Im surprised others are not seeing how cool it is.

I mean im in a train station waiting til my train arrives 30 minutes from now.
I see a few cuties, yet Im shy; such an app/idea would allow this geek to
break the ice easier.

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alttab
Interesting technology, terrible marketing. I wonder how "social" the culture
really is with that group.

I could be on my own here, but the author is right - if a bus stop
conversation ever occurred like that, it would be a sad day for humanity.

~~~
inmygarage
So the video was meant to be hyperbole - but it was really an exploration of
how we interact already. Go to any bus station and you'll see that _exact_
scene, except no one is interacting with the people around them. But they are
definitely all on their phones. The idea is that the move "into our devices"
is inevitable so why not admit that and try to create real-world interactions
that support this behavior?

~~~
alttab
Because "support that behavior" is undermining true social interaction. Just
because we technologically _can_ doesn't mean we technologically _should_. But
that is a matter of opinion.

As people with strong technology backgrounds we are usually the first to say
that it is the answer to some daily pain or a solution to a problem. But
technology can't replace everything - and true face-to-face interpersonal
relationships I believe is one of them.

"Moving into devices" is a real-world cop-out. We tune into Facebook, Twitter,
Reddit, and HN to a degree more than we should and that becomes our reality
more than the real world. If we started i-chatting with people we could, with
less mental effort, talk to _like humans have been for thousands of years_ we
may actually learn something we didn't search for.

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wolfrom
I'm not sure about the marketing here; I felt the same way as the author of
the post with the anti-social aspect, but yet I now want to try it out for
myself and I don't think it's a startup I'll forget.

If it had shown something more conventional, like a man and woman meeting in
person on the bus because of their chat, I'm not sure it would have stuck in
my head long enough to check it out.

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barrydahlberg
Cute video but it does a terrible job of selling the idea to me.

Chat on it's own doesn't appeal much but including photo and video would
change things. Being able to open my phone and see all the photos from the
party so far would provide more fuel for real world interaction, not less.

Normally our party photos are lost on someones hard drive because noone cares
about uploading them a week later when they remember.

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woodall
I do not own an iPhone, or any type of phone for that matter, and well I can't
tell enough about your app to persuade me into purchasing it; if I had one.
Apps are simple-esc. It would be very easy for you to take that image to the
right(screen shot) and turn it into a look-a-like "demo".

People who are visiting your site can chat back and forth, and kind of get a
feel for what it's all about. Your app is all about being in the same place at
the same time? Show it off.

You commercial also bugs me. It seems so sad, even the humorous parts bum me
out. At least have them meet or someone say hi. You could do another, much
shorter version, of some college kids in the quad. Have one IM another, IM
another and get a big group together having a party, tossing a Frisbee,
playing D&D. You could even go the more adult version and have someone getting
laid; sex sells big time, think of your target audience.

Over all I think the idea is amazing. It's like an IRL ChatRoulette. I can see
this getting popular without any help. Good luck and great job.

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spotted_at
I was thinking about this same thing. But instead of connecting people simply
based on proximity I choose to connect them based on proximity and intent
(<http://spotted.at>). I think that adds much more relevance to the
connection. I don't want to sound like a hater but I really just don't get
this chatparty.com thing. Even as far as chat apps go its really just not very
good.

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fleitz
Yeah, it's an interesting concept, but why not just strike up a conversation?
Should be called Wallflower messenger. Could be interesting though as lowering
the social barrier for those people could create interesting possibilities.

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jbrun
Just go up to someone, give them a small compliment and strike up a
conversation.

Stop being so god damn scared of other people.

