When Ryan Snyder approached me back in January about a project he, Mark Wallaert and Sam Keen had begun development on a few months before I quickly said, “Sure!”. I had previously worked with these talented developers and was thrilled to have the opportunity just to be involved with whatever they were producing.
I had no idea what a “Shizzow” was and as Ryan (in his ever-so-calm demeanor) explained it (and I’m kind of paraphrasing here)…
“It’s called location-based social-networking. But more importantly with Shizzow, it’s using technology to actually get us off our computers and connect in person with our friends and loved ones. We think it’s more important to develop and maintain our real relationships instead of gathering and collecting ‘friends’.
If I’m having some beers with friends and you’re in a coffee shop down the street working on a project, wouldn’t it be great to be able to find out we’re nearby and pop in for a pint and have some great conversation?”
I had a great time creating the branding, developing the look and feel and producing the overall web template design. But watching the passion, hard work and incredible talents of Sam, Mark and Ryan from the sidelines was awe-inspiring. Kudos to you, guys!
Keeping quiet about this great new web service has been driving me nuts. But I’m pleased to finally announce that Shizzow is now in private beta (with limited invitations available). Unfortunately for all my friends and family outside the great Northwest, Shizzow is just for Portland, Oregon alone. Kind of like Stumptown or Voodoo Doughnuts.
Check out some other great write-ups here and here or learn more about Shizzow here.