Sonar Blog

Launching SonarU - Apply to be a Campus Captain!

Newsflash! We’re launching a new program for college students itching to get real world startup experience. Welcome to SonarU!

Sonar is taking off, and we’re coming to a school near you! We think the world is changing, and so is how we connect with others. And college, well, it’s all about the people. Whether you are a freshman or a senior, whether you’re at a school-sponsored orientation or a last-minute frat party, Sonar is there for you, and ready to help you connect with the students around you. We’re like a little bit of liquid courage, only a whole lot easier on your liver.

Want to be part of a company that is redefining the way we meet with, flirt with, and interact with others? Apply to be a Campus Captain and become responsible for growing your SonarU campus community. We’ll help you come up with ways to make Sonar fun and useful, and you’ll tell us what works and what doesn’t. Because you know your campus best, you’ll have direct involvement in marketing and building the Sonar brand at your school. One day you might be planning a Sonar-sponsored event, another you’ll be doing market research and conducting interviews on campus, and blogging about the results. You’ll get tons of great experience running your own ship, plus support (and love) from the Sonar team in New York. There’ll be some fun perks too, like t-shirts, stickers, and maybe even a trip to hang at Sonar Intergalactic HQ in NYC if you play your cards right and prove your chops big time!

Here’s what you’ll be expected to do:

• Grow the number of Sonar users on your campus
• Plan marketing events and promos and make them happen
• Contribute to the Sonar blog’s Campus crusades; you’ll write about the great events you’re hosting and report back on how students are using Sonar on campus
• Hire and manage a stellar team of Sonar Interns to help you along the way
• Liaise with campus newspapers and other student organizations to get the word out

You’re the perfect fit if you:

• Are a DIY, independent, self-motivated powerhouse who enjoys setting your own schedule and making things happen
• Are a natural social butterfly and a born leader. You play well with others and enjoy connecting on screen and off. (Bonus points if you’re already super involved on campus and rubbing elbows with school admins.)
• Are looking to gain experience in the startup world and real world business, marketing & PR skills. We are a great reference for students looking to jump in and make their mark in startup land.
• Eat, breathe, and sleep social media
• Are a good writer and a great talker
• Are pumped about Sonar’s mission and spreading the Sonar love on campus

You must be currently enrolled in college in order to be eligible. Students may earn internship credit at their college or university for their work, provided they complete all official documentation upon acceptance into the program. Time commitments will vary (10-20hrs) depending on internship requirements. (We provide the guidelines; you build your own schedule)

Still sound good? Awesome! Apply here and we’ll get back to you as soon as we come up for air. 

Questions? Get in touch: ximena@sonar.me

Sonar is looking for an MBA marketing intern!

Are you an MBA student, obsessed with location-based technology, mobile apps and what the future holds for new ways to connect with people nearby?

Are you full of ideas around building communities through social media, fresh techniques for customer development, and the perfect mix for optimizing user acquisition?

Are you so enthusiastic about getting involved in New York’s awesome tech community that you’re double-booking Meetups every night of the week?

Is Techmeme your homepage and are Fred Wilson, Chris Dixon, and Michael Arrington at the top of your reading list?

If so, we’d love to chat with you.

Sonar is a mobile startup that helps you learn about and connect with likeminded people near you. We are always on the hunt for talented people, and right now we are in search of a marketing intern that wants to get his or her hands dirty helping us build and get the word out about the next big thing.

Location & Terms

The position is located in Manhattan, New York City

This is an unpaid position. However we offer all the snacks, Snapple and Coke Zero you can handle and we will treat you to occasional tasty local lunch selections for hard work and impressive achievements. We also have frequent team outings, pizza- or cupcake-focused celebrations, and always a six-pack or bottle of tequila laying around for launching into impromptu festivities. Oh, and it’ll be an amazing learning opportunity with one of New York’s hottest startups.

We are looking for someone who can contribute 20-25 hours/week.

Contact

Please send 1) resume 2) information about why you’re interested in Sonar and 3) links to your social media profiles and blog(s) to work@sonar.me We can’t wait to meet you!

Join us at the AdMonsters #OPSMobile event on 12/7!

AdMonsters is a great organization and global community of online advertising leaders passionate about ad technology and operations. We’re partnering with AdMonsters for their OPS Mobile event tomorrow in New York, as a resource to help attendees get the most out of their networking. One industrious networker will even win a prize for making the most connections!  

Some of the best Sonar anecdotes involve folks meeting up at industry conferences and events, and these are some of the most valuable connections, since many times people flew across the country to attend, and/or invested in admission tickets and/or a new pair of shoes or tie (at the VERY minimum… what? We sure did. Who goes to a conference in old shoes?).

AdMonsters OPS Mobile is shaping up to be quite the extravaganza, so if you’re part of (or simply enamored with) the ad industry, and based in New York, come by! There are still tickets available. Otherwise, watch the #opsmobile hashtag on Twitter and the AdMonsters site for real-time updates.

Photo Credit: AdMonsters

Sonar Teams Up with WIRED!

Who isn’t obsessed with WIRED Magazine? We’ve been nerding out over the hard copy—and now we dig the fab iPad issues—since we could read (which was around when it launched, in January 1993…what?). We had the chance to work with WIRED last June when we were featured at NExTWORK, an event they put on with The Economist, alongside Sean Parker, Bre from MakerBot, Jimmy Fallon, Internet Founding Father Vint Cerf, and the freaking CTO OF AMERICA. Ahem. We’d say it was a highlight.

This week we’re introducing our own hot promotion with WIRED, a collaboration around the annual WIRED Holiday Pop-Up Store, opening Friday in New York. We’re pumped to be teaming up with WIRED to create the Retail Experience of the Future. We all saw Minority Report. We all know that one day the future will offer us specific product recommendations and in-store experiences designed and delivered for each individual visitor. Well stand back, folks and hold onto your credit cards. It’s here.

Visit the WIRED Store between this Friday, November 18 and Christmas Eve, pop open Sonar, and take the WIRED Insider Quiz, answering just a few quick questions to find out which WIRED Insider you are (or make guesses about whomever you’re shopping for…if buying presents is something you’re into). You’ll immediately find out exactly what you should be sure not to miss and be able to hop right to the product pages to purchase.  Tweet your findings, or post them to Facebook, and who knows… maybe it will be helpful if someone (anyone) is shopping for you.

Last night was the store opening!  Here’s the team on the Blue Carpet:

To read more about the event, check out this TNW story.

You’re Looking at the Latest & Greatest ‘Award-Winning’ New York Startup!

We couldn’t be prouder to be the recipients of the ad:tech Innovation Award for Mobile!

Last week, we were invited to present as part of the Startup Spotlight Series at the massive annual advertising trade show, ad:tech New York 2011. ad:tech is an interactive advertising and technology exhibition and the largest gathering of digital marketers from around the world. Javits was PACKED! 

Hundreds of startups applied to present and sixteen were selected to compete in one of four categories: Mobile, Gaming, Social, and Shopping. Brett Martin, our fearless leader and CEO, presented for the Mobile category, sharing the stage with great presenters from Mobile Roadie, Tapjoy, and Manilla.

Competition was fierce and the presentations were all tight. In the end, the two judges chose Sonar, declaring (seriously; they declared): “We felt that this company was the most innovative and had the most potential to really make an impact.”

And the next morning we awoke to a whole new world. A world in which we’re an ad:tech Innovation Award winner!

To know more about ad:tech, give this Inc. article on 5 Hot Trends a read. Check out the ad:tech website for videos of other speakers.

Feature Focus: The Itty Bitty Goodies You May Have Missed

Last month, we introduced a new version of the app.  The BIG news was that we added LinkedIn, but we also made a bunch of small adjustments you may have missed.  Here’s the rundown:

See Facebook Likes. This feature is often obscured by people’s Facebook settings, but, when it’s not, you can see someone’s Likes, including what you have in common. Great conversation starter. And a neat thing to uncover - event with close friends!

Carousel.  When you’re looking at someone’s profile that has more than one acct linked to 4sq, you can access the carousel feature - located at the bottom of the screen. You can quickly view the person’s different profiles (and connections) by selecting the different views.

Swipe! Once viewing someone’s profile, you can swipe the screen to see other peeps at the venue.  Just click anywhere on the screen and drag to the left or right. Like reading in iBooks! It lets you scan the room super fast and decide who you want to meet.

Look for more new features in the upcoming build - coming soon!

Love,

The Sonar Crew

People You May Know

Well, they did it again. Facebook updated their user interface and everyone is dizzy trying to figure out where to find things.  (I, personally, like this update) With all the hullaballu, it’s easy to forget what we love about the service and why we spend so much time on it. Namely: faces, people, connections and communication.  

And even with the multitude of features popping up every month, my eye always veers to the right side of the screen, landing squarely on “People You May Know.” 

“Who are these people?” I ask myself.  Do we go to school together?  Are they in my volleyball league?  Have they been slowly befriending all my friends in the hopes of appearing in the “People you may know” section of my profile?  

And then…I click on their name and I’m instantly combing through dozens of photos, wondering why I haven’t been on a cruise in ten years and reflecting on how much cuter adults look when they’re carrying babies.

It’s the same deal on LinkedIn. Though there, I know right away how we’re connected.  We go to school together. I’m in the Social Media Marketing group with this one.  That one lectured on “Gen Y Affluents.”

So…the problem is…TIME SUCK!  I sit at my computer, looking at these people’s photos instead of running around outside in the world.

That’s one of the things I love about Sonar: it allows me to access this stuff, but in real time, when I’m bored at a conference, when I want to look occupied at a bar.  I can still check out, learn about and connect with people, but I can actively engage in the world around me while I’m doing it. Plus, it lets me see multiple facets of their life: personal through Facebook, professional through LinkedIn and whateva they want on Twitter all in one place. And, if I’m lucky and brave enough, I can actually walk up and talk to the person I’ve been reading about!

Speaking of Twitter, they have a similar feature “Who to follow,” but I never really look at it.  Twitter’s good for other stuff though.

Let us know about your tales of connecting and scoping out buddies’ buddies. We want to hear from you!

Hugs,

Javier, Sonar Community Manager

Check out Sonar on Facebook and Twitter!