Two young entrepreneurs are set to launch a social event app they say will take the isolation out of social media.
getWyred is the creation of Gerogian College alumni Cole Rowden and Troy McNamara, both 22, of Barrie.
The first social event app of its kind, getWyred, will go live on the App Store for iPhones at 7 p.m. tonight
The developers of getWyred say it makes connecting online a more social experience.
"We like to brand ourselves as putting the social back into social media," said Rowden, who came up with the idea in University when he couldn't figure out where to party with his friends.
getWyred allows you to scroll a live news feed of photos and videos of local activities happening within a 150 km radius.
"People will be able to see what's going on right now, be able to find their friends," explains McNamara. "It's a social event app that will eliminate your fear of missing out on your favourite parties and events going on around you."
With getWyred, you need to go out and be at a place to access your cameras or interact with people - the opposite of other social media platforms.
"Facebook and Instagram are social media platforms but really they're a sit in your room with the lights off and scroll through your news feed and pretend like you're actually meeting somebody," Rowden said.
The app was two years in the making and four different development teams.
Users can see everything from a house party to a wedding to a chess match inside that 150 km radius and have the option to make their event public or private along with their profiles.
The initial target for the marketing campaign is college students 18 to 20 years old but the app can evolve to cater to just about anyone.
The pair is launching in Barrie because they say it's the perfect test market - a smaller population but still trendy and tech savvy.
"I feel like Barrie will be forgiving if there's some bugs in the app or something doesn't work properly, that's perfect because I'm going to be able to go back to the drawing board and fix it up before I go big scale with the big cities," said Rowden.
The getWyred team is on a roll after winning the smOffice business competition last June at The Creative Space in downtown Barrie.
A launch party is being held tonight from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Queens Hotel, located at 94 Dunlop Street East before opening to the public.
The getWyred app will be available to iPhone users and the company will provide news and updates on the release for the Android version in the coming months.
Rowden laughs when asked if getWyred will make the two young men millionaires.
"That's the goal," he joked.
