Looking for input on an app idea (Read 49 times)

New forum member, lifelong runner (started with middle school cross country and track, now mainly just for fitness and general enjoyment in my 30's), hoping to reach out for input from the community on an idea I've been mulling around to see if it has any merit and is worth pursuing.

On a recent vacation, my wife and I were trying to get some local information about things like good running trails, advice on gear shops (there were several in the area), and other generic stuff like places to eat and miscellaneous things to do around town.

While some of this information is readily available if you know where to look or have the right social media connections, and review sites can supplement, I much prefer the experience of interacting with locals in an area, meeting new people, and getting their expertise on things or recommendations on places to go.

I realized that what I was looking for was something almost like a dating app, without the dating aspect, that would allow me to find locals based on common interest and connect directly for advice and recommendations.

Without being able to find something that did this already, I've been looking into what would be involved in building it and am now looking for feedback from people with similar interests and/or experiences to find out if they would be inclined to use something like this.

For running specifically, the benefit would be access to local knowledge on good running routes, up-to-date information on conditions of trails/routes/etc, group events that may not be widely publicized, and the opportunity to support local running shops.

I'd be happy to provide more details, but I don't want this to get too long...would really appreciate feedback, good or bad, and whether there would be enough interest in something like this to pursue it further,

Thanks in advance,

-Ryan

Thanks for replying...you bring up a couple of good points that I've been thinking about.

I've used mapmyrun, suunto's moves count, and garmin's site as well. I agree these are useful, but sometimes I still want more information. Your point about calling a local running store is valid, but that eliminates all of the local runners who don't work at a running store but who still may have valuable information to share.

Regarding the usefulness for the out-of-towner vs the local...this is a big part of the equation, and a main reason for my reaching out to the community for feedback.

One aspect of the usefulness for the locals is the altruism of sharing local knowledge, similar to the motivation for replying to posts on discussion boards like this.

Additionally, for those locals who don't work at a running store, it can be an opportunity to support their favorite store, and explain why, much like posting a review, except most people don't post multiple reviews for the same place, but might be willing to recommend their local store as many times as asked. This aspect applies to non-running places as well.

For the local small businesses, the benefit is similar to the benefit for the locals. Personally, I will look at reviews of a place, but I much prefer to talk to someone who knows the area well and get a recommendation. The biggest store in an area may have the most/best reviews, but a local runner might have some insight as to why one of the smaller stores might be a better option to check out based on our shared/common interests (maybe we prefer a similar running shoe brand that isn't carried at every store, for example)

Thank you again for chiming in, I appreciate any feedback

-Ryan

Short answer: My goal is to build it because it's something that I would use and I haven't found an alternative option that provides the functionality I'm looking for

Longer answer:

Money is not the primary motivation, but since I'm not a programmer, nor am I independently wealthy (I make a good living as a medevac pilot, but far from a luxurious lifestyle) there does need to be some financial benefit to make it worth the effort that would go into having the app built by a professional programmer.

I've used forums and discussion boards on and off for varying things. I agree they can be a great source of information. Part of the answer is simply that I see a lot of functions that were once served by stand alone websites moving to app based functions, or being replaced by apps that streamline the functionality by increasing the usefulness of the site with the functionality on a phone. The other, probably bigger reason I would prefer an app form, is two fold:

-an app would allow for direct communication, via notifications and messaging style communication, for more timely responses (when timeliness is of importance)

-and two, finding the right website or forum can often be difficult unless you already know where to look and it usually requires a forum that deals with a specific topic. While this would work for questions on specific topics that have established forums, there might be instances where the information you're looking for is more general in nature, and not readily serviced by an established forum

There's also the issue that many forums are only visited by a small percentage of a given population in any area of interest, whereas phones are nearly ubiquitous nowadays.

You are absolutely correct about the fact that it may have already been decided that it's not a financially profitable endeavor to support an entire business or company, but then again, I keep thinking that maybe I'm not the only one who sees a need that isn't being met, and if I get enough validation that others would use it, then that's all I need to move on to the next step of research.

Again, I appreciate all the feedback, it helps to hear others' opinions...I haven't completely ruled out that it's just a hare-brained, pipe dream kind of idea...but then again, I haven't written it off yet either

-Ryan

Is your goal to make money from the app or just create it for the public good?

 

Why do you think an app is better than coming to a website like this one and simply starting a thread asking for local running advice.  I’ve seen plenty of threads of the form, “can anybody recommend a running route in .  . . “. The first post will list the specific requirements.

 

Keep in in mind the reason that your app doesn’t exist might not be because nobody has thought of the idea. But rather because folks investigated the idea and found it was not viable.

Not trying to rain on any parades, but by this statement alone "and if I get enough validation that others would use it", sounds to me that you're going to give it a go, regardless of validation.  Despite the 'reasons' as to why the app wouldn't work, you've countered the discussion, so it sounds like something you really want to pursue....so go for it.

Regarding that opening of homes to other runners idea...despite the 'kindred spirits' we runners share w/ one another, that only goes so far.  By this I mean, we probably wouldn't feel comfortable opening up our homes to someone that we met on the Interwebz, regardless of commonalities.  I often go to lunch w/ people and consider them really good friends, but when it comes to invading my personal space, I cut them off. Heck, one of the most popular people over on the BF forums, led a ruse for a period of several years, involving fake illnesses, pocketing charitable donations to said illness, even a fake engagement....everyone 'knew' this person, yet no one really did.

You've probably met many people at local races and know many on a personal level....how many would you be willing to open your home to?  Just something to think about.....

Regarding that opening of homes to other runners idea...despite the 'kindre know many on a personal level....how many would you be willing to open your home to?  Just something to think about.....

I’ve been a host on warmshowers, which is a site for bicycle tourists, for several years.  I’ve hosted people from all over the world and never had an issue.  The system works based on user feedback.  I won’t host some unless they have good feedback from others.