Cast your mind back to the days before Facebook. Back when mobile phones were used more than just to inform your friend you’d be ten minutes later than the time you’d agreed (via Facebook). Remember when we talked? Having been born in 1980, I don’t want to make it sound like a lecture. But let me tell you kids, things were a lot more social back in the 90s. In the purest sense of the word (‘social’, not ’90s). Even before mobiles; sure portable phones come in mighty handy, but there was something satisfying about ringing your friend’s landline and reaching them via an exasperated parent. The sharp, savvy developers at iSpark also seem to feel we’re lacking something these days too; their new app, iSpark, out now for Android, aims to bring us all together again by combining the best of both worlds.
The central concept of the app is thus: use the ever-evolving, seemingly omnipotent power of social networks to get us all talking face-to-face again. So how does it work? First, you sign up, using your existing Facebook or Google+ account as a springboard to get you started. This helps you establish your basic network, which you can further build upon by inviting new friends to further join your circle. Then, you can get started with the app’s real goal; uniting folks.
It’s best explained by setting the scene. Let’s take an activity that you have to be in a specific mood for. Playing poker, for instance. I don’t know about you, but I find it’s often very hard to get a group of friends on board with the idea of poker; once suggested, the response is usually the full spectrum of enthusiasm. So maybe you really feel like playing poker. What you do is, put in to iSpark, ‘I’m in the mood to play poker’, which is one of many options for your current mood, along with movies, sport, eating, etc. The app then sends out a search and finds any fellow iSpark user in a 3km (1.8 mile) radius who’s also hankering for a bit of card action. You can then send them and invitation, or vice versa, and next thing you know, you and your new pal could be losing vast sums of money to each other.
Not that you’ll have necessarily just one option; there could be three or four people around wanting to play. In that case, you could all get together as a group, or simply decide which one of the potential pals you wanted to meet up with. It’s a smart idea built upon a very smart algorithm. The interface is extremely easy to use, and what could’ve been a complex affair is actually a very straightforward process. iSpark’s success of course depends on a lot of people using it simultaneously; it’d be worth your while to join those ranks if you’re looking to get your head out of the smartphone for a little while.
Arrange a date at Google Play and get socialising for free today!
