Location-based app Echoer has been making waves (and echoes) in the mobile social networking scene since its worldwide launch in April. We take a look at the emerging platform to see how it brings places to life through “thoughts that count”.

Echoed Conversation

Echoer utilises a highly interactive platform based entirely in the mobile world which allows users to explore their surroundings and engage in the local conversation.

Users can express and explore thoughts at any location by sharing “echoes” with one another, which are essentially location-based thoughts, events, and discoveries.

Echoer uses Google Maps to depict the world covered in real-time echoes, with topics ranging from critiques on restaurants through to traffic jams.

Amplified Meaning

Echoer seeks to set itself apart from other social networking apps by using built-in amplification capabilities to deliver a highly relevant and meaningful experience to its users. Users who find a particular echo pertinent, helpful, or interesting can “amp” it up, thus elevating the most popular and recent content above the noise.

“We came up with Echoer after finding there was no way to quickly cut through the noise on other social media. It simply wasn’t possible to see what other people in your immediate environment were thinking. Echoer makes this possible in an intuitive and interactive way,” said Daniel Cowen, co-founder and CEO of Echoer.

Business Spaces

In Canada, where the app has been available in beta since February this year, Echoer has already partnered with several leading companies and institutions including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the JavaU coffee franchise. These partnerships demonstrate how Echoer can be used by businesses to effectively provide real-time, in venue engagement and response.

MMOFA’s early adoption of the app into its social media strategy saw the museum monitoring echoes about itself and responding both online and offline, in addition to running echo chambers for particular topics, events and exhibitions within the museum.

Cowen extends, “We’ve developed functionality that allows us to work with local companies, places and events to add their own Echo Spaces, and customise their own spaces.”

Sounding board for brands

Echoer offers the opportunity for businesses to listen and respond to consumer thoughts and conversations, and engage them within the app environment by customising their own location-based branded spaces.

The Echoer app is currently available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the iTunes App Store for free, with plans to expand to the Android market in the near future.

Watch the Echoer teaser video here.