Geo-social app Wallit uses augmented reality to erect virtual walls in public places on which its users can leave messages for each other. The free app launched less than a month ago, but it already has cranked it up a notch by creating “super walls,” a feature that links together messages from walls in places that share a fundamental similarity. That capability starts to unlock some interesting enterprise and commercial uses for the app beyond just virtual graffiti.
The basic idea behind Wallit is that users post short messages to each other, like on any other social network. The difference is that the person leaving the message has to physically be where the virtual wall appears to be.
With the super wall, one virtual wall can be shared by users in related but geographically distant places. They might be in different cities but nonetheless in a stadium watching a game in the March Madness tournament, for example. Or they all could be in a queue for the premiere of The Hunger Games, just not at the same theater. Wallit’s first super wall was in a virtual space shared by more than 320 Apple Stores, enabling everyone waiting for the new iPad to bond with kindred spirits at other Apple Stores.
To preserve the integrity of the experience, users can only “mark” the wall – leave a message, photo or video – while the augmented reality wall is visible through their iPhone, and they can only upload media that was created at that location. Additionally, any user can request a wall, but the walls can only be created by Wallit.
“People have long sought to leave a part of themselves in a specific location, like signing a hotel guest book,” said Dr. Veysel Berk, founder and CEO of Wallit. “Now with the ‘Super Walls,’ people sharing a similar experience in different locations can also unite and interact. This is the first of many exciting updates as we continue to improve the way people connect with places around the world.”
The Wallit app is available in 50 countries for the iPhone, and an Android version is in the works. So far it has raised $1.2 million in seed funding,
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