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MessageParty (YC S10): How The Idea For My Startup Came At A Music Festival

45 points| inmygarage | 15 years ago |huffingtonpost.com | reply

23 comments

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[+] jpwagner|15 years ago|reply
No, I bet the idea came from an annual event at MIT's DU chapter. The name of the event is "Message Party" and the idea is the same but with physical messages and takes place at a frat party. It's been going on for years and years.
[+] inmygarage|15 years ago|reply
The name DID come from that event. Jason Gavris (co-founder) is an MIT DU.
[+] patrickryan|15 years ago|reply
Until mobile carriers solve the no service problem at large festivals, this app isn't useful in that situation. I was also at Austin City Limits last weekend with no 3G service at all, all day.
[+] almost|15 years ago|reply
I'm not sure I've ever been at a Music Festival and thought "hey, wish I could interact more with my phone". Maybe that's just me though...

Of course there's also the battery and signal issues that would make it useless at any festival I've ever been to.

Maybe there are other situations in which it would be useful though...

[+] cadr|15 years ago|reply
I'm not sure I've ever been to a music festival where I got signal. Might make it hard to use.
[+] axiomotion|15 years ago|reply
Just got back from Austin City Limits and even SMS was suffering the entire time. I never got data, not once.
[+] vr000m|15 years ago|reply
they could always leverage a combination of infrastructure and peer-to-peer technology.

That was going to be my first question, if they use some adhoc stuff or not? Considering it is an iPhone app (maybe not) and ofcourse there are technical challenges of who hosts the message.

[+] city41|15 years ago|reply
http://yaptime.com is a competitor. They have the exact same idea.
[+] eam|15 years ago|reply
I also think Loopt's Mixx would a competitor. Isn't also similar in a way?
[+] andrewljohnson|15 years ago|reply
There I was, tripping balls with Phish blaring "Bouncin' 'Round the Room" and my start-up idea came to me!
[+] revorad|15 years ago|reply
Could someone please explain what messageparty exactly does and how it works? (I don't have an iPhone.)
[+] nicholasjbs|15 years ago|reply
It's an iPhone app for location-based chat. You open up MessageParty and it shows you a list of geographically defined "rooms" (e.g., "Mountain View, CA" or "Startup School"). This means you can chat with other people in the same town or at the same concert or conference, for example.
[+] inmygarage|15 years ago|reply
MessageParty is location-based chat. You open the app and it gives you a list of nearby parties that have been created by others. It's useful for concerts, events, conferences, etc.
[+] happy4crazy|15 years ago|reply
I personally really love this, and have actually been thinking about a YC app idea that would complement it really nicely.

I will definitely try to spread the word in Boston. Good luck!

[+] guynamedloren|15 years ago|reply
This is by far one of the the coolest startups I've heard of in a while. Unlike many today, it solves a real problem for real people. I also love the fact that it bridges tech with reality (and by that, I mean physical interaction). While this seems like an obvious concept, it is completely overlooked by a surprising number of startups these days, I think it is a pretty essential component.