“Vibing”—A New Social Phenomenon in NYC Parks
First mobile app using GPS technology to allow users to customize a geographic radius around them for an otherwise impossible interaction with their surrounding social community
Contact: Lauren Randall pr at zami dot com @vibeapp
New York, NY (July 14, 2011) – Vibe™, the communication by location iPhone app is changing the way people communicate in public places, particularly in the city’s parks. “Vibing”, the anonymous communication via smartphones with nearby people whether in the park, at a concert, or a movie is adding another dimension to enjoying and discovering public places around Manhattan. Not only are Central Park, Washington Square, and Union Square great places to sunbathe, read a book, exercise, and people watch, but they’ve also become great locations to “vibe” with others whether anonymously exchanging gossip, jokes, location tips, pictures, or even flirting.
Vibe gives users control over the reach and duration of their messages, unlike other communication platforms. People can “whisper”, “speak”, “shout”, “yell”, or “bellow” their vibes (Vibe-speak for messages that have a reach of 160 feet, 1,600 feet, 31 miles, 311 miles, or worldwide reach). Users also choose when their vibes disappear ranging between 15 minutes and 30 days. Vibe’s unique combination of anonymity, distance, and duration encourages people to be more open and honest in their participation, whether asking a stupid question at a conference, sharing their real opinion during a movie, or discussing relationships with complete strangers. Vibe at NYC events At the recent Hudson River Park River Flicks outdoor screening of The Social Network on July 6th, many in the audience were “vibing” before and during the movie rather than posting to their Facebook friends or Twitter followers. Vibe allowed the audience to share their real thoughts and feelings with everyone around them and in the same setting. “Vibing” also proved to be a huge hit at the July 9th Frolic Festival in Central Park. The vibes at the festival ranged from asking where the after parties were to bartering food and drinks for frisbees and board games. “I’m very pleased to see the many different ways people are using Vibe in New York, especially in its public spaces” said Hazem Sayed, Vibe’s architect. “Though we are all intrinsically social beings, we are also socialized not to approach strangers or to be wary of approaches from strangers. Vibe breaks through the social barriers while maintaining people’s privacy and safety through anonymity and so it’s enabling otherwise unlikely conversations and communications in public spaces”, he added. About Vibe Launched at Techcrunch Disrupt NYC on May 23, 2011, Vibe is a mobile social multi-media messaging app that allows users to instantly share text, photos, and videos with others within a selectable 160 foot, 1600 foot, 31 mile, 311 mile radius or even worldwide. Vibe allows individuals to share thoughts, opinions, and ideas similar to the way they would share on Facebook or Twitter, except it is anonymous sharing with people in their vicinity rather than with friends or followers. For more information please visit http://facebook.com/VibeApp To download Vibe, please visit http://zami.com/vibeapp About Zami.com Zami.com is a New York based startup and developer of the AskLocal™ communication by location platform. Vibe is an example of a mobile app built on the AskLocal platform.# # #