Real talk. In today’s social media realm, your thoughts, ideas—anything you post—only goes as far as how many “friends” and “followers" you have. In other words, it’s pretty tough to be heard unless you’re LeBron James or Kim Kardashian. Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world where content was shared based on its quality and relevancy, not the popularity of its creator?
That’s precisely the world that the founders of Ripple fantasize about. The app, which was launched by Harvard grad Paul Stavropoulos along with a UC San Diego alum and a Princeton alum, allow users to spread the most engaging content across the globe free of any friend or follower system. Best of all, Ripple has a map feature that allows users to explore where their posts have travelled to and where they are coming from.
The "Ripple effect"
It’s an idea that Stavropoulos began kicking around while working at Microsoft—and he was so passionate about Ripple that he decided to quit his comfortable job there in October 2014 to bring the app to life with the help of his roommate. It went into beta in January of this year, launched in the App Store by late February, and then became available on Google Play in mid-April. Since then, the app has accrued more than 3,000 users and 9,000 ripples.
Here’s how it works: When you start a “ripple” (post), it’s seen by other users nearby. Those who receive a ripple can either dismiss it or spread it to others near them. Ripples travel to more people as users continue to spread them. Ripple also maps how a post spreads and allows users to comment.
Despite its simplicity on the user side, Ripple has some significant advantages. Information relevant to a particular city will reach users in that area, while globally appealing content can reach every Ripple user. Meanwhile, disengaging content will not reach as many users, since it likely won’t spread. Each Ripple visualizes how many times the content was spread, where it has traveled to, and how it got there. Unlike retweets, upvotes, or “likes”—one-dimensional measures of engagement—Ripple allows users to understand their impact on a deeper level. And it’s not just individual people who can benefit: Brands can also use Ripple to reach new audiences around the world more easily.
Refining the user experience
While Ripple operates on a global scale now, however, Stavropoulos noted that it started with more of a local-first approach.
“What we found very early on is that people really just wanted to see blue dots lighting up on the opposite end of the world,” he said. “That was the main appeal. So it was evident that our initial approach wasn’t really the answer. People didn’t necessarily want to engage people in the local community, but from all over the globe.”
As new users have been coming on board, Stavropoulos says the team has noticed that most fall into one of two categories: Those who just want to share a photo or a quick moment, and those who want to share more thought-provoking, rich content. So looking ahead, Stavropoulos says the biggest challenge will be building a kind of sub-categorization system—not unlike sub-Reddits.
“We know that’s part of our end vision, we just don’t know if we should go ahead and build it yet, because we really haven’t reached that critical mass yet where we know we can execute it right,” Stavropoulos explained.
There are currently four people working on Ripple full-time, all split between Boston and Seattle.
Stavropoulos told BostInno that the startup, which is self-funded to date, isn’t seeking outside funding just yet—but will begin looking to raise money once Ripple reaches 10,000 to 20,000 users. They are, however, actively on the hunt for an advisor.
All images courtesy of Ripple.
