Are you a Social Media Junkie? For most of us Facebook is the pinnacle of all social media. If that wasn’t enough there are a slew of other choices available like Apple’s own Ping, Twitter, Linkedin and more. For you addicts out there, Groupie for the iPhone just might be your fix. This free app let’s you create, join, and manage groups of any topic on your iPhone. Boasting over 40,000 users with 9,000 groups this app quickly became the number one social network app in the Appstore. It’s still a young buck in the social media arena but it’s already showing some potential.
Joining and searching for groups is a breeze. There are up to ten different main categories of groups such music, business and so on. And each group will have sub categories within them. Most of the groups you come across will be highly reminiscent of a majority of Facebook Fanpages, like my favorite “I need a boyfriend” group or groups based on brands or teams like the “Boston Celtics” (YES!) group. But quite a few groups will only have a few members so if you want something a little more lively I suggest using a different route. You can find groups based on popularity, date added or a random list of groups can be listed by simply tapping on the random button. If that wasn’t enough you can also search for groups in your area.
Groups are like one big message board thread. Once you become a member of a group, you can join in on the conversation by posting pictures or writing whatever you want. However for the larger groups (I joined “Apple”, “Best Apps” and “Favorite Free Apps”, each with thousands of members) most of the conversations seemed to be more like random comments that really didn’t flow with the group’s theme. Maybe if the developers added more of a thread feature like the discussion tab of Facebook’s Fanpages then topics might be a little more organized. Now I didn’t check out the “Bieber Fever” group 😉 or more of the specialized groups so I think things might be a little less hectic over there.
Groups offer a few social features. Using your iPhone’s location settings, Groupie uses a neat function called “Live Map.” Here all the members of the group will be shown on a map, complete with the member’s name, email, contact, groups joined, etc (if of course they allowed this information to be displayed.) You can also invite your friends to groups or join the groups that your friends are in.
Overall Groupie provides a unique way to meet new people based on your interests. The interface was easy to use and everything linked and flowed very easily. Hopefully the developers add some kind of way to keep the conversations organized but overall it was an interesting experience. This app is totally free and it doesn’t hurt to give it a try! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
