Bivid, a new location-based social network, aims to create an environment that allows users to connect with others both near and far — and the company has a brand ambassador at Syracuse University.

The free mobile application, which launched globally Jan. 25 on iOS, lets users share life moments in both their local area and global community, said Dean Glas, Bivid’s CEO and co-founder.

“(It’s like) a public album of the locations you’re in,” Glas said.

Users’ posts can be added to three different tiers of feeds: followers, which are friends and other people who aren’t necessarily friends; local, which includes anyone in the area; and popular, which curates the most interesting content in the world at the moment, Glas said.

Similar to Snapchat stories, posts on Bivid are deleted after 24 hours. This is so content stays relevant to the now, Glas said.

Bivid’s users are also not anonymous. Unlike the anonymous Yik Yak, a popular location-based social network for college campuses, Glas said Bivid is trying to create a healthy and transparent environment. As a result, there has been minimal bullying or harmful situations, he said.

Glas and his co-founder, Mendy Raskin, were inspired to create Bivid during their senior year of college in New York City, Glas said. They wanted to feel connected to their area, which is why users can see posts not just from their friends, but from other people in the city, as well.

Glas and his co-founder were able to raise $250,000 from private investors four days after beginning fundraising, Glas said. Since Bivid launched, it has received 50,000 views on the App Store every day, he said.

More than a dozen college campus ambassadors are currently involved in Bivid, Glas said. Ambassadors spread the word about Bivid, create content and try to get their friends on the app, he added.

Jennifer Grygiel, an assistant professor of communications in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said Bivid is heading in the right direction.

“The future of social media is all about people in real life. We had this grand experiment of visiting the Internet, and joining social networks and collecting all of our friends online,” Grygiel said. “And then we got lonely … No one interacted with anyone in real life anymore. But we want to hang out with each other in real life.”

Grygiel said successful social networking companies are able to capitalize on an aspect of human life not yet developed in the online sphere. Yet Grygiel said Bivid will need to create something more than just showing users location-based content.

“I think they’ll need something more than just ‘Look who’s next to you,’” she said. “People need a reason (to interact). They need a catalyst.”

Glas said Bivid is working on developing an Android application, as well as a new feature called Zoom. Zoom will allow users to view and experience any location — not just those in their current area. This could be especially useful for travelers who are curious to see what locals are doing, or for high school seniors who could view the community of a potential college, Glas said.

“Bivid’s goal is no matter what location you’re in, there is relevance (to you),” Glas said.

Published on February 10, 2016 at 10:39 pm

Contact Haley: hykim100@syr.edu