Blog 3: The Correlation between Stadia& Social Websites Since I’ve started working on Speeksy I have learned so much. Today I’m not going to get into the

lessons to be learned working in a start-up business on the other side of the Atlantic; I’m instead

going to talk to you about a slightly different kind of lesson which I’ve learned. It’s more of a theory

I’ve developed since starting work with Speeksy. It’s based around the correlation between Stadia

and Social Websites. Bear with me!

So I spent all weekend watching sports and it got me thinking about beautiful structures like this:

And this

And even this

What people are calling the accidental vaginastadium.

While watching a few different games, I started to wonder what it would be like if these games were

being played with no people in the stadium. By themselves stadia are absolutely beautiful, designed

for use by people and they provide a place for people to enjoy themselves. Yet, like social websites,

it’s not the website or the stadium that makes them amazing places to be in, it’s the people.

However in order to be amazing places once they are full with people,both stadia and social

websites alike need to beenvironments which encourage people to do things that they don’t

normally do in their everyday lives. For example, I’ll tell you a story. I’m Irish and I went to the

European Soccer Championships in Poland last year to watch Ireland get crushed 3 - 1 by Croatia (I

don’t really want to talk about the match). However, when Ireland scored that goal I hugged the guy

next to me, when they conceded the other goals, we went into deep discussion (about who was to

blame),and at the end of the game we had our arms around each other’s shoulders singing the Fields

Of Athenryas loud as we could with 40,000 other people with tears in our eyes. Watch here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U640QFjx9GA

Now someone tell me, where else could that level of interaction happen with someone you didn’t

previously know, nowhere! In everyday life, people walk around withinvisible barriers around them,

a defence mechanism, which prevents them frommeeting and interacting with new people and

having fun. You know the barrier I’m talking about, it’s what stops you from saying ‘hi’ in an elevator

orwhile you’re standing awkwardly at the office printer when someone is waiting behind you.

Personally I feel that it is this barrier that causes bars everywhere to be full of people, waiting for

‘Dutch Courage’ to kick in, in order to meet new people. However, stadia are one example of places

where people ‘turn off’ this barrier and actually open themselves up to meet people and have a shed

load of fun in the process. On Speeksy, the “Stadium Effect” is one of the many inspirations we took

on board when designing our new app. We hope it’s a place where people let their invisible barriers

at the door (or at the App Store) and not only meet people online, but do it while having fun.Here’s

how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMYRaKth6sU

Leaving your defence mechanism at the door allows amazing things like this to happen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1AO43779mE

And allows an atmosphere like this to be created:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTuNjstVGmk

So to sum up all that I have just said about stadia and social websites; Stadia are places that allow

people to meet other like-minded individuals, and this is one of thephenomena that we at Speeksy

have looked to replicate because it results in an environment that is amazing to be a part of. A

stadium’s atmosphere is only as good as the fans within it, just like a websites, and it is therefore

because of you, the early Speeksy users, that the atmosphere on Speeksy is becoming so great to

be a part of”. So this isPhilyfrom Speeksy, just saying thanks to you, the users.

Good morning, and in case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night!

Yours,

Phily

Head of Preaching & Revolutions at Speeksy

Follow Phily on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Philip_Hayes90

Download the Speeksy iOS App Here!

And the Speeksy Android App Here!