JustConnectUs vs AroundYou

We all believed that technology, the internet, and devices would usher in the utopian age. Where life is simpler, easier, and we have more time to spend with friends and family. Where neighborhoods and local communities are thriving and peaceful. And everyone is happy. But in reality? We’re further from that vision than ever. Technology, the internet, and devices disconnect us from those around us. Not just our families, but the communities that we live in. And even though social media and online messaging groups claim they have the tools to support offline communities online – it’s all an illusion. Because when people ask for help with something in the real world, they find themselves going down a rabbit hole of trouble. As soon as you fill in a form on a service website you get inundated with hundreds of emails and phone calls from service providers – each trying to out-bargain the others to win your business. What’s more, most of the providers who claim they’re local, aren’t even local. They’re either paying a lot for online marketing or have collected multiple fake reviews to make them sound good – instead of being genuinely good at what they do. And when you ask in a public forum, conversations quickly turn sour. Because instead of getting trusted recommendations, you get gossip and slander about a poor job that so-and-so did for someone’s cousin last year. And on top of it all, you still don’t know if the service provider you get will “get” you and be a personality match. But it’s not just the locals seeking help that are affected. Local service providers are struggling to keep their businesses alive. They’re experts at what they do, but they’re not experts in digital marketing. What makes things even worse is that even one bad review left online can permanently cripple their business. Meaning they either have to invest thousands of hours, or thousands of their hard-earned dollars, in online marketing so that locals can find them. How can it be that the tools we designed to help each other and bring us together are, in reality, driving us further apart from each other? How can it be that locals can't get honest recommendations for service providers without muddying someone's reputation? And how can it be that service providers are no longer chosen for the quality of their services, their work ethic, or their character – but on their search engine ranking or their best social media post? Lucky for us, there is now a way out of this mess. Just Connect Us brings real-world communities together by strengthening the ties between locals and trustworthy local service providers. A community referral app, Just Connect Us enables locals seeking help to get one-on-one, personalized and deeply contextual recommendations about local service providers – from someone who knows and understands them, and who knows and understands the service provider. Through private one-on-one messages with their contacts, locals can get honest opinions about the quality of someone's services and their character. Enabling them to discreetly vet service providers through one-on-one communication. Without getting overwhelmed with advice. And without damaging a provider's good reputation. At the same time, local providers can now generate a steady stream of referrals from happy locals, without marketing themselves online. Leaving them to simply deliver good work for good people – just as they’ve always done. It’s real-world, word-of-mouth marketing. But at scale. With Just Connect Us, locals and service providers will connect deeply and authentically with each other. And as a result, will begin to rebuild the foundations of trust and goodwill that real-world communities need to grow and thrive. Meaning that technology will finally fulfill its purpose of making our lives easier. And as a result – the world a better place. So that together, we can face the future with confidence. No matter what it holds for us.

Around You is the social network for the place you’re in. Instead of following people, you see what’s happening around you, right now. Open the app and you’ll find posts from people nearby, a map of what’s being posted across the city, and the people who are in your area. The feed shows what’s happening now, and older posts stay as the history of each place. What you can do: • Post what you’re seeing, ask a question, ask for help or for company, with text, photo or video. • Explore the city on the map and see posts from other neighborhoods. • Point your camera and see posts floating around you, in augmented reality. • Find people nearby, if you want to: the feature stays off until you turn it on and set your preferences. • Create or join communities for a concert, a game, a festival or your neighborhood, with a defined area and duration, and invite people nearby with a QR code or a link. • Chat with people who commented, posted or are in the same community. • Report something lost or an incident, and ask the people around you for help. Your exact location is never shown. People who see your posts only see an approximate distance, and you choose whether your location appears at all. Enjoy the places and the people around you.