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Alex Wilhelm
Alex Wilhelm is a San Francisco-based writer. You can find Alex on Twitter, and on Facebook. You can reach Alex via email at [email protected] Alex Wilhelm is a San Francisco-based writer. You can find Alex on Twitter, and on Facebook. You can reach Alex via email at [email protected]
Chicago-based Evzdrop today announced that it has completed a $500,000 angel round of funding. The company also today released its mobile app and web platform. Participants in the funding were not disclosed.
Evzdrop is a tool that geolocates users on the go, allowing them to ‘Drop’ reviews and other content in their current location. Other users around them can check out their Drop, allowing for information to flow from individual to individual.
You can Drop anonymously, which means that you can leave your $0.02, even if it isn’t the most positive, without fear of recrimination. This will swing both ways, naturally. Evzdrop says that this will be useful when users want to “be heard but not found.” Good Drops are given ‘Props,’ a form of point for strong content.
In its view, Evzdrop is moving ‘beyond’ what we would call a normal checkin, found, say, on Foursquare. It emphasizes the fact that you must be at a location to Drop there, forcing users to interact with the app on-site. In its view, such a system makes content created on its network “carry more weight.”
On the other side of things, the company has a business platform that allows for companies to track, in real-time, what people are saying about their operation, on-location. The information can be filtered, Evzdrop promises, “by sentiment, demographic, and location.”
Interesting tech, but in a crowded space
Tying a user to a location strictly, while advantageous, does increase the total friction in posting. This could limit engagement, even if it boosts the average quality of a Drop.
Other location tools allow for the posting of tips, such as industry-leader Foursquare. Also, other platforms provide analytical data to businesses, so Evzdrop isn’t unique in that regard as well. The test of the company will be its ability to garner a userbase and populate its graph. Obviously, the chicken/egg issue is in full force.
On the whole, Evzdrop looks like an attractive application, with a good focus on providing data services to companies that its users interact with. How well it manages to acquire those users will be its first hurdle. If and when the company hits a meaningful user benchmark, we’ll bring you the news.
Top Image Credit: Luiz Gadelha Jr.
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