Whrrl
Encyclopedia
Whrrl is a social location-based game developed by the Seattle
-based company Pelago, Inc.
Whrrl has a recommendation engine that uses algorithms and users' votes to surface relevant recommendations. Explanation of how this works here: How Does Whrrl's Personalized Recommendations Work.
On June 30, 2010, Whrrl launched its Society Rewards Program, designed to close the gap between a brand’s online social media and real-world presence with its first partner, Murphy USA Oil.
Groupon
announced that it had purchased Whrrl on April 18, 2011. As Whrrl dissipates, it is being speculated that Groupon will leverage location based social networking or "check-ins" on their popular group coupon site.
and discovery site that allows both web and mobile users to find, explore, share, meet up at, and rate points-of-interest in their cities.
Online Recommendations.
Pelago’s first product, Whrrl, was launched on July 10, 2008. Whrrl v1.0 was a location-based social networking and discovery application for the iPhone, Blackberry and numerous other mobile phones.
Pelago launched Whrrl 2.0, an 'on-the-go' storytelling application for the iPhone and web on March 16 at South by Southwest
. Marketing of whrrl.com included vandalism of Austin public property using stencils and spray paint.
Whrrl 3.0 was launched at SXSW on March 11, 2010 with a promise: "We'll save you from Farmville." Press release here.
veterans Jeff Holden and Darren Vengroff, the latter of which has since left the company.
In November 2006, Pelago, Inc completed Series A financing backed by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; Trilogy Equity Partners; and Bezos Expeditions
. It is also the first product to be financially backed by the iFund
.
In May 2008, Pelago announced a second round of funding totaling US$15 million led by Deutsche Telekom
, followed by India-based Reliance Technology Ventures and DAG Ventures
.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
-based company Pelago, Inc.
Whrrl has a recommendation engine that uses algorithms and users' votes to surface relevant recommendations. Explanation of how this works here: How Does Whrrl's Personalized Recommendations Work.
On June 30, 2010, Whrrl launched its Society Rewards Program, designed to close the gap between a brand’s online social media and real-world presence with its first partner, Murphy USA Oil.
Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
announced that it had purchased Whrrl on April 18, 2011. As Whrrl dissipates, it is being speculated that Groupon will leverage location based social networking or "check-ins" on their popular group coupon site.
Site overview
The service was launched in October 2007 as a geosocial networkingGeosocial networking
Geosocial Networking is a type of social networking in which geographic services and capabilities such as geocoding and geotagging are used to enable additional social dynamics. User-submitted location data or geolocation techniques can allow social networks to connect and coordinate users with...
and discovery site that allows both web and mobile users to find, explore, share, meet up at, and rate points-of-interest in their cities.
Online Recommendations.
Pelago’s first product, Whrrl, was launched on July 10, 2008. Whrrl v1.0 was a location-based social networking and discovery application for the iPhone, Blackberry and numerous other mobile phones.
Pelago launched Whrrl 2.0, an 'on-the-go' storytelling application for the iPhone and web on March 16 at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
. Marketing of whrrl.com included vandalism of Austin public property using stencils and spray paint.
Whrrl 3.0 was launched at SXSW on March 11, 2010 with a promise: "We'll save you from Farmville." Press release here.
Pelago, Inc.
The company was founded by Amazon.comAmazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
veterans Jeff Holden and Darren Vengroff, the latter of which has since left the company.
In November 2006, Pelago, Inc completed Series A financing backed by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; Trilogy Equity Partners; and Bezos Expeditions
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
. It is also the first product to be financially backed by the iFund
IFund
The iFund is a US$200 million capital fund. Developers may enter into equity deals for the creation of applications, services, and components for Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platform...
.
In May 2008, Pelago announced a second round of funding totaling US$15 million led by Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
, followed by India-based Reliance Technology Ventures and DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures is an American venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. It is known as a "coattail" fund for co-investing in later-stage private financing rounds alongside more prominent top-tier venture funds such as Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Accel Venture...
.