Google launches social network: Shoelace is rolled out in New York
After Schemer and Google+, Google is once again trying its hand at a social network. The experimental arm of the company, Area 120, has semi-released Shoelace, a social network that is still manually curated.
Shoelace is the name of the app from Google's own developer Area 120. As far as we know, the app is a manually curated social network designed to show you meeting places, events and general places of interest in your neighbourhood.
Focus away from friends
Shoelace is still in an experimental state. However, according to industry magazine AndroidPolice, it is reminiscent of an app from 2011. Back then, before the now also discontinued Google+, Google tried to give Facebook a run for its money with Schemer. It didn't work. Schemer disappeared from the scene again in 2013.
Shoelace, however, is reminiscent of Schemer in that the app not only focuses on personal relationships, but also appears to be location-based and personal. It works like this: users are brought together with each other and a location based on their interests and probably other personal data. This should make it easier and quicker to plan your own social life.
So far, Shoelace is only available in New York City, and even there only in selected neighbourhoods. Local moderators accredit users for the Community, which according to AndroidPolice was one of Schemer's weak points at the time. Poor moderation was one of the biggest disadvantages of Schemer, writes editor Cody Toombs.
Source: AndroidPolice
Events are called "loops" at Shoelace. A user can organise a loop and other users can then join in. Screenshots show how a fictitious woman called Sarah wants to do some yoga in the park. Other users can then get in touch and discuss the details in a chat. Interesting: Much of Shoelace still seems to be manually curated.
Who is Area 120?
Area 120 is a division of Google. According to its own information, Area 120 is a place where "Google works 100% of the time on the 20% projects". These 20% projects are a tradition at Google, as Google employees are allowed to spend 20% of their paid working hours pursuing their own projects, which are then intended to benefit the company as a whole.
Source: AndroidPolice
Source: AndroidPolice
The experimental nature of Area 120 also means that Shoelace will not necessarily be published. Or rolled out widely. A look at recent history shows that the developers at Area 120 have developed Smart Replies. These were then integrated into Gmail, but briefly had a life as a standalone app called Reply. It could be a similar story for Shoelace. It could conceivably be integrated into Google Calendar or Tasks, which is already integrated into Gmail, Calendar and other products in the Google Suite.
Shoelace could also be integrated into Google Calendar.
Shoelace APK Download
If you want to take a look at Shoelace, you can download the APK and install it on your Android smartphone. The official Shoelaces page also offers a download for Apple's iOS via Testflight.
Source: djb
But there's not much to see in Switzerland. You need an invite code and a valid US telephone number. You also need the manual accreditation of a moderator. But at least you can watch one screen.
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