VOLUME 25, ISSUE 12 INDEX EDI TORI AL 2 | NEWS 3 | FEATURES 5 | ENTERTAI NMENT 7 | SPORTS 10 | VI SUALS 12

Islanders develop and implement new social media app Spotagory

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Please welcome the
new app on the block
see New App on the Block on pg 8
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students (from left to right) Louis Smith, Georgie Dawl, Pamela Macias and Bailey Mross test driving the Spo-
tagory app at the Alpha Gamma Delta event
photo by Bailey Mross
PAGE 6
PAGE 4
PAGE 10
An Islander on a
mission
Earth Day Bay Day
in Corpus Christi
What Rec Sports
has in store for
summer
Islander Tribute
see In Loving Memory on pg 3
T
he world today is overrun with tech-
nology. We are a more globalized so-
ciety than ever before. Finding where
friends are is as easy as a few clicks
thanks to social media sites.
Imagine a city, a bar, or any location
having a documented history of its own.
Some of these places have their own
Facebook pages, but there are so many
pictures that will never be tagged leav-
ing them to be buried in someones photo
gallery.
A new iPhone app, Spotagory, is about
to change all of that. Spotagory is a geo-
graphically based social networking app
that utilizes the pictures that users take
to visually preserve a story.
We are just getting started at Spotago-
ry and the next few releases will change
the way we explore entirely. Were ex-
cited and looking forward to making our
own history, 24 year old Co-founder and
Chief Executive Officer, Kaleb Bryan said.
Available as of March 21, the app has
users either link their Facebook or create
an original username in order to sign up.
Users can then grab an instant feed
of photographs taken within a nearby
radius, and view, comment or like these
photographs.
That may sound similar to other social
media sites with photo upload capability,
but Spotagory is unique on its own.
T
he annual Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Islander Tribute was held on April 8
in honor of the seven fallen Islanders in
the past year. Families and friends of the
deceased attended the small and brief
ceremony.
Tonights ceremony is all about
remembering and celebrating these
students lives, said Dr. Don Albrecht,
Vice President for Student Engagement
and Success, We [the University] realize
we are only a small part of their lives.
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi reects on fallen Islanders
by CONNER TICHOTA
news editor
by TREY SEAL
entertainment reporter
04.17.2014
8entertainment
ISLAND WAVES
Student at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a
local Spotagory community manager, Bailey
Mross met with Island Waves to discuss the
app.
Its really about relevance, said Mross,
Spotagory has both a nearby feed, for any
users in a certain radius, and a Friends feed. The
nearby feed is what we really wanted to focus
on. With the nearby, you can see the photos
that anybody is sharing around you. Youll
see the most relevant and the ones closest to
you in proximity. These photos can come from
anybody, not just your friends. Your friends
feed allows you to follow your friends and the
various places that theyre taking photos.
The most game-changing feature however
is the upcoming Map Drop function. Map
Drop allows users to pin-point any location
in the world, and see every photo taken there
within the app.
For instance, lets say that youre looking to
plan your next vacation. Youve heard of a small
place called Fredericksburg, Texas, but all that
Google pulls up is boring, empty shots of the
city and biased Yelp reviews of certain areas.
Spotagory would allow you to see the towns
residents and the various tourists who have
come through participating in the culture. It
allows users to see the environment in a very
candid way.
Bryan, had this to say about the inspiration
of the invention.
I saw this huge gap in social media, said
Bryan, The gap was not being able to connect
with the various people around you. Facebook
allows you to make a post but the only people
who are going to see that post are your
friends. Twitter has the same problem. Hash
tags still hold a limited function due to users
having to search for that specific hashtag to
find the various post associated with it. These
platforms are great for communicating with
your friends but there is no efficient way to get
in contact with your community. I saw this as
a huge gap in social media, and Spotagory was
born as a simple way to communicate with an
entire community.
Bailey Mross (bottom center) with fellow Islander testing their app Spotagory to inform others
of their Alpha Gamma Delta cause to end diabetes through education and awareness.
photo by Bailey Mross
New app on the block continued from page 1