Meetro
Encyclopedia
Meetro was a multi-network social messenger with location-based service
s (LBS). It was compatible with AOL Instant Messenger
, Yahoo! Messenger
, MSN Messenger, GTalk, XMPP
, and ICQ
. Meetro's features made it useful for meeting people with similar interests in a given area, as well as bundling multiple messaging protocols into one program. Meetro was located in San Francisco, California
.
Meetro is a software that runs on Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
reported a rumor that Meetro was in talks to be bought out by search giant Google
. Paul Bragiel
, CEO of Meetro, crafted the rumor and promoted it via sites like digg.com as a publicity stunt to attract attention.
Meetro worked by actively scanning for the MAC addresses of wireless access points around a user's location. Then Meetro contacted the main database server and compared the MAC address
to a list of known access points. Subsequently it did some mathematical calculations to determine the latitude
and longitude
of a location. Once Meetro had calculated the general area (usually a quarter mile) of a user's physical location, it then compared it to others users and displayed who's online within a quarter mile, half mile, mile, etc... A user's exact location was never displayed to other people on the network for privacy and security reasons. Meetro would only present that a user is within a range of 1/4 of a mile. Users could choose to make information of their location public, such as "I'm at the cafe on 2nd and Broadway."
Shortly before closing, Meetro added support for business address look-ups in the United States as an alternative method for users to report their location.
Meetro was different than other social networks and messengers in the fact that as soon as you signup, you're able to talk with other users who are nearby instantly, even if they're not approved 'friends'. This is to encourage communication between nearby people.
Towards then end of 2006, Meetro introduced features to display places and services that were nearby (in addition to people). Meetro will display nearby restaurants, cafes, and bars on a map. Meetro had planned to also display the local weather and nearby geotagged photos.
Meetro had introduced a number of location based web widgets, including a StatusBadge that would display a user's last known real-world location on their blog, email, or personal webpage.
Meetro allowed users to create real-time personalized groups within the client. These groups could be configured to show a specific subset of Meetro users grouped by any combination of: Status (away/available), Gender (male, female, unspecified), Minimum Distance, Maximum Distance, Keywords, Relation (friend, friend of a friend, unrelated, MeetroHQ). For example, you could create a group that includes all users that are between 3 and 4 miles away and are currently online. Meetro was one of the only messengers to have a rule-based grouping system, as opposed to other messengers which do not use any personal descriptors or location to sort and filter users.
. At the time of closing, Meetro headquartered in San Francisco's SoMa
district.
Meetro closed in 2007. The development team terminated the project in order to focus their efforts on their Lefora project.
Location-based service
A Location-Based Service is an information or entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device....
s (LBS). It was compatible with AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
, Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
, MSN Messenger, GTalk, XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
, and ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
. Meetro's features made it useful for meeting people with similar interests in a given area, as well as bundling multiple messaging protocols into one program. Meetro was located in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
Meetro is a software that runs on Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
Launch and Early History
Meetro launched on June 1, 2005. On August 14, 2005, SlashdotSlashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
reported a rumor that Meetro was in talks to be bought out by search giant Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. Paul Bragiel
Paul Bragiel
Paul Bragiel is an internet entrepreneur and currently a managing partner of i/o VenturesBragiel, the oldest child of Mary and Walter Bragiel, was raised in Mt. Prospect & South Barrington, Illinois....
, CEO of Meetro, crafted the rumor and promoted it via sites like digg.com as a publicity stunt to attract attention.
How it Works
Meetro differed from the other popular messengers in that users could input location specifications to see other online users in surrounding areas. Its location finder was strongest in the Americas and Europe but worked the world over. Users unable to obtain a location could input latitude and longitude details to see how far away other online users are at a particular moment.Meetro worked by actively scanning for the MAC addresses of wireless access points around a user's location. Then Meetro contacted the main database server and compared the MAC address
MAC address
A Media Access Control address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used for numerous network technologies and most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet...
to a list of known access points. Subsequently it did some mathematical calculations to determine the latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
of a location. Once Meetro had calculated the general area (usually a quarter mile) of a user's physical location, it then compared it to others users and displayed who's online within a quarter mile, half mile, mile, etc... A user's exact location was never displayed to other people on the network for privacy and security reasons. Meetro would only present that a user is within a range of 1/4 of a mile. Users could choose to make information of their location public, such as "I'm at the cafe on 2nd and Broadway."
Shortly before closing, Meetro added support for business address look-ups in the United States as an alternative method for users to report their location.
Features
Meetro allowed users to create custom profile pages which could be searched and browsed by other users nearby. Meetro's profiles supported feeds for videos, photos, and blogs in addition to the typical social networking profile questions. Users had the option of embedding dynamic feeds from their YouTube videos, Flickr photos, and their personal blogs directly into their profiles. Meetro was one of the few services offering 'profile aggregation' - crawling the web to aggregate a user's digital persona.Meetro was different than other social networks and messengers in the fact that as soon as you signup, you're able to talk with other users who are nearby instantly, even if they're not approved 'friends'. This is to encourage communication between nearby people.
Towards then end of 2006, Meetro introduced features to display places and services that were nearby (in addition to people). Meetro will display nearby restaurants, cafes, and bars on a map. Meetro had planned to also display the local weather and nearby geotagged photos.
Meetro had introduced a number of location based web widgets, including a StatusBadge that would display a user's last known real-world location on their blog, email, or personal webpage.
Meetro allowed users to create real-time personalized groups within the client. These groups could be configured to show a specific subset of Meetro users grouped by any combination of: Status (away/available), Gender (male, female, unspecified), Minimum Distance, Maximum Distance, Keywords, Relation (friend, friend of a friend, unrelated, MeetroHQ). For example, you could create a group that includes all users that are between 3 and 4 miles away and are currently online. Meetro was one of the only messengers to have a rule-based grouping system, as opposed to other messengers which do not use any personal descriptors or location to sort and filter users.
Company Background
Meetro originally started in Chicago, IL with a small team working and living out of the same house. The team moved to Palo Alto, CA in late 2005 and continued the same live/work situation. Meetro grew and enjoyed press coverage for its atypical live/work ethic, including a front page story in the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
. At the time of closing, Meetro headquartered in San Francisco's SoMa
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
district.
Meetro closed in 2007. The development team terminated the project in order to focus their efforts on their Lefora project.