This looks really nice! I was very impressed at the download speed, so good job on that one.
All I'm really missing is something telling me if anyone is nearby. That's probably not easy.
Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
121–130 of 139 posts
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#122I'm curious about how this actually works, geometrically. Example: A B C Those are three people. Imagine each segment is 1 mile long. So A can see B; B can see C; but A can't see C. If B and C are having a conversation, does A see B talking to someone who effectively does not exist?
turns out you're right. anybody have suggestions on how to fix this?
Why not group people into free-form clusters based on user density? So, if you have 5 people that are effectively in the same building, and 3 people that are outside of it in various directions, group those 3 into the 5. This has the effect of forming virtual chat rooms that come and go.
Not sure what you're using on the backend, but if it's PostGIS... here you go: http://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/11567/spatial-cluster...
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#123There is an app like this (I think - as I can't download this one) called WeChat which has a similar functionality. Not sure about the popularity in the US but in Asia it is huge and the "people nearby" feature is very fun.
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#124Great idea! Be careful about nefarious use (aka sex offenders) if that's possible.
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#125Revenue possibilities for this app:
1) Give it to participants at conferences. You could partner with conference promoters and advertisers
2) Partner with baseball and football stadiums and "teams"
3) Partner with bands and gigs
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#126I just got the username "James". This never happens.
If you can solve the "AB—BC" problem, then you'll have a really powerful application that'll easily get some investments, you just need to market it right.
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#127black status bar text on dark red background, this needs to change.
But a very neat idea! Already found some people to chat with in Tokyo
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#128it would be great to see closest online person to chat if there is no one in 1-mile. (Of course chat will be inactivated with that person)
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#129This app clearly reminds me of the device John McAfee promised us: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/30/4786008/john-mcafee-d-cent...
"the device [...] has a range of around three blocks. Everyone in those three blocks can then communicate with each other and that will obviously change as users move in and out of a local area."
Will definitively try to maybe see people from HN in Paris.
Re: Show HN: Popcorn Messaging – Anonymously chat with people within 1 mile
#130I'm curious about how this actually works, geometrically. Example: A B C Those are three people. Imagine each segment is 1 mile long. So A can see B; B can see C; but A can't see C. If B and C are having a conversation, does A see B talking to someone who effectively does not exist?
turns out you're right. anybody have suggestions on how to fix this?
How about a 1 mile (square) zone, rather than 1 mile away from you? So you just cut everything up into mile-square slices, and you can talk with everyone in your slice... Concept is basically the same, but should overcome that issue.