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“All large social networks present today care about is adding everybody in the world as a user,” said Neil Patwardhan.
This might sound hyperbolic, but it’s a valid point. Enterprising minds in social media tend to crave big, relatively unsegmented markets. (Ten years ago, a Facebook account required an email address with a .edu domain. Compare that to its current, proliferative levels of utility and ubiquity.)
Patwardhan, however, has a different strategy.
Patwardhan is the founder and CEO of EmBazaar, an Austin-based tech company that develops social media for “micro” communities within large organizations. Earlier this month, EmBazaar released Skoop, a social-networking app for campus-specific communication.
“Honestly, with the oversaturation of social networks out there, it became increasingly apparent to us that students in universities and colleges struggle to find relevant localized news that matters to them,” Patwardhan said.
Skoop transmits updates on college-specific events through a tripartite system. Its Events function publicizes parties, study groups, and other campus happenings; Bazaar allows students to buy and sell goods and communicate via an instant messenger service; and the news feed, Heartbeat, publishes bazaar listings, events, and other updates pertinent to the student population. Users can create and upload eight-second videos to each of the three platforms.
“Our value stems from...building unique micro networks that are specific to a university. Why? Because it bring news relevancy back into your college life and allows you to always stay in ‘the know’ about news that matters daily,” said Patwardhan.
All content within Events and Heartbeat is user-submitted, Patwardhan said, and users have access to all of the content they post to Skoop. Because the communities are local rather than global (like Facebook in its infancy, Skoop requires a .edu email address for registration), all information is readily accessible to users, rendering a “friending” scheme unnecessary.
“Student organizations have taken to Skoop in droves because it fundamentally solves ‘my org awareness’ issue that frankly has gone unsolved for a very long time,” Patwardhan said.
EmBazaar launched Skoop in a controlled beta state in mid-July and in an extended beta state in early October. The company then introduced the service to a handful of Texas universities, including Texas State University, The University of Texas at Austin, St. Edward’s University, the University of Incarnate Word and Southwestern University.
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EmBazaar employs eight workers and has raised nearly $80,000 in seed financing from a syndicate of angel investors, company officials said. Skoop, which is open to all universities, is now used by 12 schools, according to Patwardhan.
When asked if he intended to develop versions for groups outside the collegiate social sphere, Patwardhan responded, "Potentially. We have a few surprises up our sleeves that will prove extremely beneficial to other demographic groups.”
But before that happens, Patwardhan prefers to focus on his fundamental goal: reinstating the locally relevant social network for students, on a global scale. “We want to make this model the norm in national university culture and expand internationally to make Skoop beneficial to all.”
