Here On Biz App: Smarter Networking for a More Mobile World
One man, one vision and ten weeks on Appcelerator Titanium; that’s all it takes to come up with a mobile app with the capability to revolutionize the face of business. Here On Biz is an application that provides a unique way for professionals to connect to one another. Allen Hartwig and Nick Smoot partnered up after leaving their previous place of employment with nothing more than a vision and the minds and wills to make that vision a reality. Their application, Here On Biz, takes the social networking capabilities of LinkedIn and adds chat capabilities and location awareness through the geolocation function of the iPhone to create a new experience entirely.
Here On Biz allows you to see members of LinkedIn in your area that are also using the app. It organizes these professionals into two primary groups: those who are local to the area and those who are visiting. It will also create another category to specify those that are in attendance of a particular business meeting or convention. Though there are other apps that allow you to see which of your friends are nearby, spark up a conversation and find a local meeting place- Here On Biz is the first app to do so in a strictly professional context.
Although Here On Biz acts as an excellent tool to connect colleagues, its true value lies in its potential for networking with new connections. You can send a message to a LinkedIn user outside of your network that is in your area and if he views your profile and decides to connect, the two of you may begin chatting in an interface similar to instant messaging or iPhone text messages. But it doesn’t stop there- if the two of you decide to set up a meeting to discuss business in person, either of you can use the Indulge feature to find a nearby restaurant at which to meet and talk over dinner or lunch.
Here On Biz allows you to connect with others and turn the down time you may spend waiting at an airport or bar into an opportunity to make new and valuable connections. But rather than let you sift through the possibly countless users in your area, as may be the case at a large convention, it also uses an algorithm that examines your position title, connections and company to provide you with suggestions of people who can truly benefit you by connecting with them.
In only three weeks, Here On Biz has had over 1000 downloads and received media attention from Entrepreneur magazine, INC magazine, and other publishers; one Fortune 500 company operating out of Silicon Valley has even expressed interest in standardizing its use among employees. But Hartwig and Smoot are no strangers to success; the team has previously started and sold a mobile technology company over an impressively quick eight-month period. When we at Appcelerator had the fortune of meeting them, they were happy to show off their work. Once I downloaded the application and logged in to my LinkedIn account, Smoot reached over and in what seemed to be only an instant, checked me into the event he created for our meeting and sent me an instant message. Soon, everyone in the room was connected and using the application to plan our implementation of its use at our next big conference.
You can download Here On Biz for the iPhone here.
Follow @hereonbiz on Twitter and like the company on Facebook.