Here's a 21st century riddle: Why, in an age of endless instant media, are coffee shop corkboards and telephone poles still cluttered with printed flyers?
According to HootBoard founder Satyajeet Shahade, the answer is our ever-shrinking attention spans. Everyday, a torrent of Twitter headlines, Pinterest pictures and Facebook updates stand between timely messages and their target audience. HootBoard, which operates out of the University City Science Center’s Quorum, pushes messages to the front of the line with a virtual “flyer” combining social media channels and design elements. The company completed Novotorium’s business launch program and will release the beta version of its product this week.
Back in 2011, Shahade was working on Raspee, a platform for scholarly work. In a broad attempt to reach students and professors, he spent hundreds of dollars and endless hours covering local campuses with pieces of paper. “It was painful,” says Shahade. “And worst part was that we didn’t even know if anyone was looking at these flyers.”
The flyer needed a 21st century makeover. HootBoard takes advantage of recent advancements in front end web design technology to integrate multiple channels — including videos, music, maps and meetup invites — into a fully customizable posting. HootBoard also provides private bulletin boards for communities that share a physical address, school or workplace.
“Everyone has a need to announce or promote something,” says Shahade.
Source: Satyajeet Shahade, HootBoard
Writer: Dana Henry