Opinion-Polling Network Thumb Now Routes Questions By Location For More Relevant Answers

Thumb, the opinion-polling network that lets people get real-time crowdsourced recommendations, has today launched a new update to the app routes questions in a totally new way: by location.

This was something that founder Dan Kurani said was always in Thumb’s plan, but that patience was the key.

“We wanted to have enough liquidity to ensure the best possible experience for our users,” said Kurani. And by liquidity, he’s not only referencing sheer user numbers but platform engagement on the whole. The app has seen nearly 24 million unique questions pass through its doors, and over 228 million sessions since launch. And it’s not like they don’t come back — according to Kurani, 20 percent of Thumb users return to the app daily.

The addition of location routing should only boost engagement even more. It’s not a fancy UI update, so some users may not even notice it at first. But in the background, Thumb will start searching for answers to your questions based on your location. In more suburban, sprawling areas, the boundaries of this search will be pretty wide, to ensure quick responses.

In metropolitan areas, the search will be a bit more focused.

Since the average Thumb query returns a first response within around 20 seconds, it was very important to Kurani and the team to make sure that there is no sacrifice on instant gratification. Because of this, the app will start by searching within your general area and then quickly expand outward until it finds answers for you.

Location is just one of multiple ways to route questions on Thumb, such as gender, age, category and even shopping. But it marks a big growth achievement for the company.

In the future, the feature will not only route based on your location, but let the user actually specify a location to search. For example, if you’re traveling to France, you can route your question through Paris to ask about great shopping, food, and sights.