GO is new mobile application for the iPhone that allows users to broadcast and share photos, videos and commentary with others and post them to a live streaming portal. The app offers real-time access to geo-located, tagged media presented in both a stream and map view. But does the world need another mobile/social/photo-sharing experience? Well, maybe it does.
You see, there’s something different about GO that separates it from the rest: it supports complete anonymity. To be clear, it doesn’t just offer the option to use some clever Web handle instead of an authenticated user account – it actually offers the option to post as “anonymous.” #OccupySocialMedia? Oh yes.
In terms of the app’s design, you’re either going to love it or hate it. The app is damn pretty, maybe even a little too pretty, with its overly stylized look-and-feel that can sometimes get in the way of what could be a simpler user experience. I happen to think GO looks hot, but you may think otherwise. To each their own.
As for the functionality itself, it’s nothing earth-shattering: post, tag, share. However, when you tap the big pink sharing button, GO offers you the option to “snap” (post a photo), “shoot” (video) or “speak” (audio). It’s a trio of options for media input that your favorite take a picture/apply a filter photo-sharing app may not have.
What’s really interesting is GO’s anonymity option, though, which is a key part of the new mobile app’s experience. When the majority of today’s apps are bending over backwards to offer you sign-in options that let you speed up the authentication process via Facebook or Twitter, with GO, self-identification is an option, not a requirement. And while that may lead to users who are probably not “MarkZuckerberg” (yep, he joined), it doesn’t really matter. GO isn’t about boosting your ego via likes and shares, “connecting with friends,” or sharing pictures with your family – it’s about instant mobile broadcasting. It’s about documenting the world without having to disclose that you did so.
Despite it’s relatively soft launch (GO went live 11-11-11 without much fanfare), there are already some interesting videos surfacing from the OccupyWallSt movement for whom GO seems custom-built. Of course, GO isn’t the first tool to serve the needs of the this crowd. Apps like the Twitter-esque Vibe have also served the Occupy protesters well in the past. But Vibe is ugly and is mainly used for text. GO does more.
Despite its differentiating features, GO will still suffer from the same disadvantage that any newcomer to the photo/video-sharing space does at first: critical mass. However, assuming the need for tools to anonymously document the world don’t die with today’s OccupyWallSt shut-downs, there may be a future for GO yet.
GO is the first product from Hollr (not to be confused with Holler), which was founded by Michael Bachman and Justin Dionisio. The two were previously the directors at KURO, a boutique interactive agency based in Long Beach. Hollr has some seed stage investment from Imprint Venture Lab, but won’t disclose the amount.