Simply Local: Built on user feedback
Consumer Led Product Development to get true Product-User Fit.
In late December 2018 when the iOS version of Simply Local was released the goal of the app was not to be another social network but to be a simple neighborhood communication tool. Almost two and a half years later from starting with very basic features to now — Simply Local has evolved into a beast of a social networking app with many advanced user features. The evolution occurred because of our consumer led product development with a single minded focus to find the perfect product-user fit.
Simply Local was the second product we were working on the first being a tool that connects citizens to their elected representatives. During this period in 2018, we realized that there wasn’t any effective communication tool for your location nearby. We also realized this would be a vital benefit for residents to discuss local issues with each other. This was the genesis of Simply Local.
Today I want to share in brief the journey of the product.
When we launched: December 2018
This is how Simply Local looked in December 2018. Initially it was called Gadfly Broadcast. The name was changed to Simply Local sometime in 2019. As you can see there was a tab view with different locations of the neighborhood. We also showed the City — New Delhi, State — Delhi and Country — India as locations (not visible in the image). As soon as the app was live we reached out to potential users and began studying their behavior while using the app, discussed their thoughts and ideas, which features would be needed and more.
The first version of Simply Local didn’t have a profile, sorting of posts, chat, search, or media upload. It was just a basic broadcasting tool.
Over the months we added a host of features which included geo-fenced neighborhoods, different types of media upload, media preview and editing, improved commenting and sharing. One of our biggest improvements came in August of 2019 when we released the basic version of channels. Now each neighborhood would have channels for different topics. The channels have now advanced to giving users permission management to grow and organize their channels.
This is Today: April 2021
Not only is the user interface much more beautiful but as you can see we have a host of features that make Simply Local a complete neighborhood social platform.
Users can explore channels, search for neighbors in the directory, and build an advanced profile for themselves. They can manage their feed to give them posts as they choose. We also have a one on one neighborhood messaging service where neighbors don’t need to share their personal information to be able to chat with each other.
While the rest of the app isn’t visible here you will see lots of advanced features in all of them. I will discuss those at length in the future.
The most important thing to note is that Simply Local now has thousands of daily active users where users are posting and connecting with their neighbors on a daily and monthly basis. This could only have been achieved because of the great insights we gained from our consumers throughout the years we have been working on SL.
If you use Simply Local and would like to give us some advice please absolutely do. That’s how we are built. Email us at feedback@simplylocal.app
