Do You Swarm Here Often?

Cubby Beil
Zeta Beta Tau

The newest innovation in our generation's frenzied networking world has found its way onto our campuses. Swarm is a new technology that adds a missing piece to social media, which is creating shared experiences based on participation. It was created to add aspects of experience and interaction to social media, not just what you are doing. Through games, crowd-moving and rewards, Swarm creates shared experiences.

The benefit of Swarm is that it's a new way for merchants to satisfy their customers through social media that is more effective than Facebook and Twitter; unlike those platforms, Swarm has created engaging experiences between customers and businesses.

Swarm has recently popped up on the college campuses of UCLA, USC, Indiana, and now the University of Texas. Swarm is rapidly expanding due to the close relationship the company has with The Odyssey.The Group Goal of Swarm is similar to Groupon, because it is based on the participation of the users. For example, if enough people are interested in getting a special deal through Groupon, then the deal is activated. The same goes for Swarm, except Swarm uses the “check-in” feature to activate deals. That way you can see what your friends are buying. The deal may be Happy Hour at a local bar and grill, or getting a musician to come to town; it all depends on user participation.

The Duration Swarm is a battle royale in which users compete for domination of their school’s social scene or strive to make the biggest difference in their community. It is a competition to establish who runs the most popular bar, which fraternity brings the most business to local merchants, etc. The Duration Swarm allows users to compete for two important things, pride and prizes. Users can take photos and share with their Facebook and Twitter friends to earn bonus check-ins.

An Instant Swarm is the standard group buying fare, but with a few twists. Sharing with friends and users can earn additional discounts. Once the specified number of Swarms is sold, Swarm adds points to users’ accounts, which can be used on future purchases.

The Swarm app is available at the App Store. Download, and you'll love it. Imagine how great living in Austin will be when businesses are geared toward the Greek community. That is what Swarm will do. We will get great deals at local restaurants, retailers, etc. and the best part is that you can see what your friends are buying and sharing so that you can get in on the deal with them.

Cubby is a sophomore studying advertising. You may contact him at rbeil@utexas.edu.