Kik Messenger: Three weeks after its re-launch last month, over
2 million users have downloaded Kik Messenger, a real-time texting app that tells its users when a message has been sent, delivered, read, and when someone is typing back. In fact, 150,000 eager Kiksters
took advantage of the free download on its very first day, and usage has peaked at over a million messages per hour. The Canadian team behind the service designed it to be the first
viral component of a more comprehensive Kik Community that will eventually include music, photos and video. Might the days of SMS be over now that cross platform technology allows
real-time messaging between most major devices? We can’t be sure. But, we can agree with
tweets: #historyisbeingmade.
imup4: Modern technology has been hailed for bringing us closer together, so it’s shocking how hard it can be sometimes to make face-to-face plans. Earlier this fall,
two former classmates at NYU Law launched imup4, an app that facilitates planning on the fly without mass texting, blast emailing, or posting on Facebook. (All 653 of your “friends” don’t
really merit an invite to drinks.) This new social tool helps its users connect with friends who are looking to do similar things within specific timeframes. Just announce what you’d like to do and when you’re free to do it, and imup4 will source your social and mobile networks to coordinate the plans. Of course, if no one responds, it may be time to
make some new friends.
Fast Society: Anyone who has attempted to organize a group outing knows how frustrating coordinating schedules can be, not to mention the difficulty of actually sticking together in a crowded public space once they’re hangin’. Enter Fast Society, a mobile chatroom-slash-friend locator that could change people’s (social) lives. The free app allows its users to group text, conference call, and share locations among groups of friends (known as “teams”) for specified time periods. (Mashable
recommended it for concerts, but it can be used for any unruly excursion.) Although there are
similar apps on the market, like
GroupMe, Fast Society is emerging, um, fast as the category leader.
