Designing a location based social network

We were tasked with building a brand identity and product strategy for Pinwheel. At the time it was a revolutionary idea to create a new type of social network that isn't based on your friend graph or interests, but rather it be location specific.

The idea came from realizing that most people are completely disconnected from their surroundings, we hardly know our own neighbors let alone what is happening nearby. The idea was there, now it was time to execute in the most meaningful way possible.

Figuring out what matters most

We went back to research how humans used to communicate before the technology revolution and found that information had found its way to travel. It was achieved by "amplifying" or relaying messages from one group to the next. That was our starting point.

In the modern world, humans are much more visual so we focused on the camera as the defacto sharing tool. Users were able to share a photo or a video and if they needed to add more context they would add text over it. Now, what happens to a message like that once it gets posted and who sees it if you are not "connected" to the person?

We designed a complicated algorithm that assigned a value to each user based on their usage and peoples feedback to their content. Therefore, each post starts with an initial reach radius, which is the radius in which other people in its geographic area will see it. With each like or comment the radius grows, thus amplifying the post so more people can see it.

We also had to reinvent communication based on location. Users see not only people they have connected with that are nearby but also new people that opted to be available to chat. This allowed for new meaningful connections as well as discovering new activities, places and local businesses.

Location, Location, Location

Building Pinwheel's underlining technology and working through complex user problems based on location pushed our creativity and allowed us to create a very unique and beautiful experience that delighted its users every single day.