With so much information available on the web, it’s hard to distinguish between fact and fiction. And as avid internet users, we’re typically weary of blogs and individual sites as valid sources of information but when it comes to major publications we—for the most part—tend to believe what we read. The following is our own retraction/correction and an example of why we should not always believe everything we read.
Recently our in-house start up, Crowdbeacon was written about in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Even though it is an honor for our agency and the product, it was unfortunately inaccurate in naming the mobile application’s creators. Crowdbeacon was actually the brainchild of start-up expert, Robert Boyle, Anthony Del Monte and a skilled Sardinian developer named, Luca Columbu. Scott Wells was misquoted as the co-creator because he was the one who conducted the phone interview. Scott is one of our lead strategists and was important in launching Crowdbeacon’s social media and marketing efforts.
For the most part, the other details of the article are true but in publishing this correction, we wanted to highlight Luca for all his hard work and dedication in developing Crowdbeacon. They may have neglected to mention you Luca, but we know how hard you worked; all the hours you put in and we are glad to have an intelligent developer such as yourself on the Squeaky team.
Grande Opera!
SXSW is one of the largest annual Music/Film/Interactive events in the U.S. and Squeaky and Crowdbeacon are excited to take part in it again this year. On our last trip down, we were in awe at how many awesome venues Austin had to offer (way too many to try them all). So this time we figured we’d better prepare for the sensory overload that will invariably occur.
After asking the good people of Austin (via Crowdbeacon) the places that must be tried while attending SXSW, we came up with an extensive guide to everything from the best karaoke bars to the best 24 hour spots with omelets at 2 am. Besides, who knows Austin better than the locals?
Check it out here and start living like a local.
We hope to see you down there! Get in touch with us! @SqueakyNYC @Crowdbeacon
There are a ton of iPhone apps out there nowadays but location-based applications seem to be all the rage lately. So in celebrating Free Friday we have provided you with four killer location-based applications for iPhone.
Yobongo
A pretty cool app that brings you back to the chat room days of old. Yobongo connects users that are near each other and throws them into a chat room. It’s a pretty cool way to connect with new people around you. Although—like the chat rooms we once knew—there are a ton of creepy people out there. Be cautious.
MyTown
This app is like Foursquare met Monopoly . Create your town and don’t just check-in to locations, buy ‘em up and expand your town. The creators of this application have done a really great job incorporating the gaming aspect to location-based apps.
Urbanspoon
This is a cool application for finding various restaurants around you. You can mix things up by giving your iPhone a shake and find new places based on area, cuisine and how pricey the restaurant is. Not only that, but you can also connect with friends and see what they think of different places, book a table, and read reviews from users and publications. Overall this is a handy app for the avid restaurant goer as well as for anyone looking to try someplace new.
Crowdbeacon
This application turns your location into communication. It not only provides you with input from Yelp and Foursquare but also from local experts about what you are looking for, based on where you are. You can find out information about local businesses, get recommendations and you too can become a local expert and answer questions about your area. This app is great for those on the move who need information fast. The average response time is less than four minutes and the local experts really seem to know there stuff. Did we mention this was also developed by Squeaky!? 
With all of these location-based services out there we are curious to see how businesses will utilize them to market themselves. Sure you can get deals in certain places with apps like Foursquare but what’s next? We’ve got a few ideas but we are curious to see what new innovative tactics will be used in the location-based arena.
A sense of discovery fuels the desire for fashion. Accessibility transforms desire into purchase. Our own individual need to be validated as an expert and style setter drives word of mouth. What encapsulates these three things (discovery, accessibility and becoming an expert) more than the boutique shopping experience? We stumble upon old stores in uncharted neighborhoods, or new stores in heavily trafficked ones, and delight in exploring the labels, conversing with storeowners and supporting local business through our collective buying power. The same goes for the digital arena, where the most influential searches within fashion stem not from a blind Google search but from the opinion of a trusted blogger, editor or friend. As we continue our virtual hunt and stumble upon brands or boutiques, our journey of exploration sometimes leads to a purchase and other times to information that places us at the forefront of a trend.
Continue reading →
Squeaky recently launched our first in-house product: Crowdbeacon. Crowdbeacon is a location-based service that answers questions about restaurants, shopping, services and activities in your immediate vicinity. The answers come from other users, local experts, business owners as well as tips pulled in from Foursquare and reviews from Yelp. It’s been almost three weeks since we launched (seems like three days!) so we wanted to give everyone an update.
So far we can honestly say we’ve been THRILLED with the response. We started Crowdbeacon with the thesis that location-based applications have a huge potential to deliver value to users where and when they need it—and after initial user feedback we feel this has been validated. People ask all kinds of questions like, “I just stained my shirt! Where can I find a blouse in midtown ASAP?” or “Anyone know a good, honest handyman for home repair?” and even, “Where can I find a dog park to pet a Husky?” To all of these questions and more, Crowdbeacon has been able to deliver. Our location-based and real-time results have a lot of users excited about Crowdbeacon. Tweets like this tend to get us excited as well:
“Posted a question on the Crowdbeacon app and got a damn fine suggestion in less than a minute. Sweet. #crowdbeacon” -@thebrownsquare
We’ve also had great input from ‘power-users’ who have been making suggestions to improve Crowdbeacon. We’ve since put those suggestions into action, allowing users who don’t have an iPhone to ask questions directly to the site, as well as making the app itself more user-friendly with an improved posting process and easier sign up.
Finally, our marketing and PR team has been doing a great job getting the word out. Articles about Crowdbeacon have been featured on TechCrunch, LifeHacker, GigaOm, Bloomberg, Thrillist, Killer Startups, and The Next Web. To top it off, we got a small bump in our numbers (wink, wink) after becoming a featured app on the Apple App store last Thursday!
As you can imagine, our team has been working ’round the clock (literally) since we realize there’s a long way to go. For everyone out there who’s been helping us spread the word and checking out the product—THANK YOU. We certainly couldnt have done it without your support.
Onward!
