BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 20, 2010) - Would you ever walk into a bar with friends, then drink alone? Okay, okay. Some of you might... but for those of us who wouldn't, why would you ever do the same with your fancy shmancy mobile location app?
Ahem...
"Starting today, you don't have to check-in alone anymore. Now you can check-in with your friends. And that's freakin' awesome!" said SCVNGR Chief Ninja Seth Priebatsch. And he should know about checking-in alone. He is, after all, a ninja. Ninjas live a solitary, secretive life. But that doesn't mean you have to.
The "social check-in" (available exclusively on SCVNGR for iPhone & Android) enables you to check-in with your friends simply by bumping phones together. You'll get 2 points times the number of friends you check-in with.
What's even cooler is that a functionally unlimited number of people can check in together. As opposed to other "physical gesture" technologies, SCVNGR's near-field device-to-device recognition technology can connect an unlimited number of iPhones and Androids at a place -- not just two. Think about that for a second... an entire stadium of people could check in together, at the same time. And automagically be the most socially happening place ever! Woot!
When you social check-in with a group of friends, it'll not only tell you how many people you just checked-in with but also their first name and last initial (great way to remember the name of that person you kind-of-sort-of know from the last seven times you kind-of-sort-of met).
Still not impressed? How about this: when you post that social check-in on SCVNGR out to Facebook or Twitter, it will @mention everyone involved in the social check-in (and coming soon, tag your friends in the Facebook update). Of course, you can also participate in a social check-in privately if you want and just be listed as "+1 other" (maybe you never really liked that person you kind-of-sort-of knew).
The social check-in awards each participant two points times the number of people who do it. 2 people = 4 points. 5 people = 10 points. 1,000 people? Well, let's make it happen!
From behind the customary orange shinobi shōzoku worn by most entrepreneurs in Boston, Priebatsch continued, "Checking-in is fun. And people check-in on SCVNGR all the time, everyday. And it's great. But doing the social check-in on SCVNGR with others is way more fun. Because checking-in by yourself is kind of a solitary activity. In fact, if you think about it, all those people checking-in alone are really just playing with themselves."
So start checking-in with others! Next time you're at a place, launch the SCVNGR app and check out all the quick, fun things you can do there. If you happen to be there with friends, try the social check-in. Simply bump your phones together (or just give 'em a solid shake at the same time) and voila! You've just told the world that you're actually NOT ordering a pint of Guinness by yourself. In fact, let's celebrate the fact that we're here together. Drink in one hand, SCVNGR in the other!
You can start living your social life again by grabbing the free app for iPhone & Android at www.scvngr.com.
About SCVNGR
SCVNGR is a game. Playing is simple: Go places. Do challenges. Earn points! Players unlock badges, earn rewards and broadcast their location & activity out to their social graph. SCVNGR is played via a free iPhone & Android app. But playing SCVNGR is only half of it. Individuals and enterprises can also build on SCVNGR by adding custom challenges at their favorite locations. SCVNGR is funded by Google Ventures and Highland Capital Partners. Visit www.scvngr.com to learn more.
Contact Information:
Media contact
LaunchSquad for SCVNGR
Mike Farber and Katie Cinnamond
Scvngr [at] launchsquad [dot] com
Boston: 617-452-0812