I know people (@suzywillow being one) that use Instagram to get a feel for what a place is like. Being community-created, it feels more authentic and WYSYG than the manicured photo galleries on official websites.
Nice work, @paul_aaron and team. 👍🏼
Separately, this app represents a possible unbundling of Instagram.
@_alexfi there are a few additional features we are planning to add for iOS, and once those are in and working the way we hope them to, the next step will be to cross platform for Android. I can't say exactly when, but hopefully soon, so stay tuned.
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@paul_aaron Please post it then again here, because I maybe forget ;)
@paul_aaron@_alexfi You guys should let people drop their email for Androidon your website, that's a missed opportunity !
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Brilliant idea and great execution. I love how there's already content everywhere. I actually use Instagram as a travel guide plenty of times, but it's hard to sift through hundreds of selfies to find the one picture that best captures a place. How will you prevent Sherpa from becoming a selfie-infested place (as far as curation goes)? Also, what's the meaning of the name?
@nscmnto hi Bruno! The name just sounded catchy to us. I suppose there is a bit of implied meaning, whereby everyone who signs up and creates a profile is helping others travel through their pictures - similar to how a Sherpa helps you reach your destination in a climb. Regarding the Selfie problem, we have done quite a bit of work from an algorithm standpoint to boost the very best content to the top (stuff that is specific to travel, versus selfies). Of course, it's not perfect, but something we will continue to work on as more people sign up.
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@paul_aaron definitely, and I think that creating that community from the beginning will help with the high quality content. I searched for some cities immediately after signing up and was really impressed with the content - good job with the algorithm!
@the_baloyan hi there - I'm one of the co-founders and CEO of Sherpa. Right now we are focusing on travel inspiration and discovery, but as the platform evolves we will allow users to discover, compare and book trending hotels, or connect with tour providers - all based on the places our community geotags.
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@paul_aaron Got you, cool! Do you have any statistics - how many users downloaded the app? Retention rate?
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Nice! Glad to see a more robust discovery platform for Insta.
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