Sonar Blog

Sonar Spotlight

Sonar Spotlight: Tomáš Vrabec

Hello there, lovely people of Sonar!

This week, our Sonar Spotlight takes us to the faraway lands of the Czech Republic.  Meet Tomáš Vrabec, a software tester for Xacti who, on the side, writes for photography magazines and also enjoys taking photos himself!

Nice to meet you, Tomáš! I love that you’re passionate about photography.  What sort of work do you do with photography magazines?

I write about photography issues and photography equipment, including reviews and previews.  Most of my articles are for the online magazine DIGIarena.cz, one of Czech Republic’s largest photography magazines.  I also write for AVmania.cz, a webzine focused on video and audio topics, as well as zive.cz, an online magazine on computer and technology.  

Sounds like you have a lot of photography expertise!

Yes, I do have quite a bit of photography experience.  Last week, I gave a talk for about 30 people on “how to not choose a camera.” I spoke about the main mistakes that people make when they are looking for a new camera and discussed some photography techniques.  I also enjoy photography as a hobby and keep an online photo gallery.  I’m also thinking about starting my own photography blog soon!

That’s pretty cool. Why do you use Sonar?

I’ve been a Superuser in the Czech foursquare community and really I liked how Sonar shows me connections from all of my social networks.  I also enjoy Sonar’s simple user interface and being able to check into places quickly, two things I expect from a social networking app. I’ve shown Sonar to a few friends, and they’ve all started using the app and recommending it to other friends!

Awesome! Do you have any stories you’d like to share about using Sonar?

I ran into a classmate of mine from primary school - twice! And we were at the opposite side of the country from where we had gone to school.

Reunions! Love that. One last question - the Olympics are coming up, which sport are you looking forward to watching the most?

Definitely football.  Or shall I say, soccer?

Thanks, Tomáš, for interviewing with us! 

Sonar Spotlight: Corey Hubbard

For our Sonar Spotlights, we love learning more about who our users are, and you guys never cease to impress us.  This week, we interviewed Corey Hubbard, a Chicago resident whose current project is launching a startup incubator in his neighborhood.

Nice to meet you, Corey! The startup incubator you’re working on sounds really neat.  How did this idea develop?
I’ve always been interested in business and technology.  I also wanted to create jobs for my community here in Chicago.  In the Fall, the idea hit me – let’s do a startup incubator.  I’ve talked to venture capitalists and investment groups from throughout the country and am currently working on getting together the finances to buy a building and renovate it.  

What’s your vision for how you’d like this incubator to turn out?
I’d like it to be located on the West side of Chicago, probably in Wicker Park.  The building will be divided into three sections.  On the street level, there will be a restaurant.  The middle layer will be the incubator.  The top third will be apartment homes.  Hopefully all this will be reality by this time next year! It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur in Chicago.  It’s so new here, it’s like the wild, wild West.  Everyone has the chance to go out and start his own company.

Best of luck! You’re a pretty active Sonar user – how did you find out about us?
I learned about Sonar in a Mashable video. After I tried it, I sent out a couple of invites.  There are many Sonar users who are entrepreneurs or also working on startups, so I’ve been able to meet them through Sonar and share with them what I’m working on, see what they’re working on, and get together at a later date.

It sounds like Sonar has helped you do some on-the-ground research for your incubator.
Yes, that’s one of the ways I use Sonar.  When I see entrepreneurs on Sonar, I try to meet up with them for coffee, pick their brains, and see if their startups are looking for space.  I’ve also used the status function to let people around me know that I’m working on launching a startup incubator and make myself easier for people with similar interests to approach.  

Who are some of these people that you’ve met?
I was at a Catapult (another incubator in Chicago) event when I met Andrew Davis –

We love Andrew! He’s one of our users and was featured in a Sonar Spotlight as well.
Andrew is a great guy, really cool.  His hometown in Indiana is only forty minutes south of where I’m from in Michigan, so talking to him was like talking to one of my friends from home.  We talked about what we were working on at the time.

It’s a small world after all.  Well thanks for chatting with us, Corey! Good luck with everything! After your incubator opens, what’s the first thing you’ll do to celebrate?
I will definitely have a grand opening party and thank everyone who helped out.  And then I’ll probably go skiing.

Sonar Spotlight: Roger Chang

An Instagram photo of Roger taken by Katie.  Thanks, Katie!

Hello there, Submariners! We hope you’re all enjoying the first few weeks of summer.  

You’ve probably seen our Sonar Spotlights before, but this one is different.  This interview is the first in a series that feature the fine folks on team Sonar - that’s right, the people behind the app you know and love! First up: engineer extraordinaire, Roger Chang.  

Roger hails from New Jersey and graduated with a computer science degree from Rutgers.  After working at Wired.com for 4 years, Roger came to Sonar.  

So Roger, what exactly is it that you do at Sonar?

I started as a backend developer for Sonar but now I’m doing a lot of client stuff, including iPhone and Android development.  I joined the team in December.  So far so good.

Cool.  For readers who are unfamiliar with tech lingo, backend developers work on programs that users don’t interact directly with, while client work is user-facing.  Could you tell me a little bit more your past work with Wired.com?

Wired was my third gig coming out of college and one of my favorites.  I worked with Paul Fisher, whom I work with now at Sonar (Paul is currently Sonar’s CTO).  We were responsible for rebuilding the site from the ground up when it was bought from Lycos.  Wired was different from my previous jobs because I got to interact with editors and web producers instead of just programmers. It helped me develop a non-tech-friendlier rhetoric.  Being a tech-centric publication, we felt the need to be on the cutting edge of technology, which is what shaped my love of technology exploration today.

What are your interactions with Subby like outside of work?

Whenever I’m taking the train or subway somewhere – I’m usually in the city – I’ll open up Sonar and see if I know anyone.   I’ve used the status feature to find friends and Sonar team members nearby.  Maybe in the morning, I’ll change my status to “Getting a coffee” or something.  It’s a good way to get your friends’ attention when you’re close by because the status is sent out to friends who are nearby.

The status feature is indeed very handy.  Now, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I would love to fly. Asians can’t jump [laughs], so I’ve never experienced the feeling of flying.  It’d be cool to be in the air with nothing to obstruct you, and you’d never have to deal with New York City traffic.

Sweet deal.  Lastly, what’s your favorite part about working for Sonar?

I would say the dedication and the intelligence of the people I work with.  They challenge me everyday to be better at what I do.  Seeing their dedication and motivation motivates me as well.  And the free food in the kitchen.

Sonar Spotlight: Ashwin Desikan

Hey, hey Sonar friends! It’s a gloomy day here in NYC, but we hope to brighten yours up with another Sonar Spotlight! Our latest community spotlight features Ashwin Desikan, an American expat exploring the streets London, data scientist at VisualDNA, and a volunteer for the UEFA and several voter registration organizations.

*Want your very own Sonar Spotlight? Holler at @xsvengoechea

X to the O, 

The Sonar Crew

Ashwin, you sound like one busy guy. How often do you get a chance to use Sonar?

I use Sonar at least once a day.  I read about the app last year and was eager to download and try it out.  In a city like London, with so many Foursquare, Twitter, [and] Facebook users, you are bound to stumble upon someone with a common interest everywhere you go. […] People are genuinely interested in reaching out if they feel you have a common bond.

So, do you generally use Sonar for business or pleasure? (Or both!)

It started out for pleasure, but now that I work in tech I am finding it quite useful for business.  Most of the people I’ve met who are Sonar users are early adopters/techies. Sonar has been useful for me in identifying key people at tech events I’ve attended in London and see[ing] how I am connected to them.  Even in a city as big as London, you are usually no more than one connection away from someone in the London tech scene…I have found useful business contacts through reaching out to people whether I’m at work (around Soho), at Harrods, or at a railway station.

Glad we could be of assistance. Do you think Sonar has changed the way you connect with people?

Sonar has made me aware of big events in London, as you can see where a lot of people have checked in.  When I have a free night, I will check Sonar to find the hotspots.

Yep, we think Sonar is pretty good for finding out what’s going down around town.

Thanks, Ashwin!

Sonar Spotlight: Reeme Idris!

A warm hello to our wonderful Sonar users! We hope you’ve been enjoying our new features but in case you missed it, check it out here! After a wonderful sunshine-filled weekend, we’re feeling refreshed and ready to roll here in the sub. Here’s another Sonar Spotlight to get you through the week!

Today we’re featuring the lovely Reeme Idris – a London-based fashion stylist and producer. After studying Law and PR, Reeme now moves between fashion styling, trends research, and event production. Her biggest project is a young collaborative and creative platform: The Collective by Reeme & Nina. (Check it out! It’s superb.)

*Want your very own Sonar Spotlight? Shout out to @annaphant.

X to the O,
Sonar Crew

Such a creative gal, Reeme! So what’s your main motivation for using Sonar?

I find a great deal of value in the potential for people connecting at the events I help produce. […] I’ve connected with a few like-minded folk via Sonar; it gives me the option to be socially sourced when I choose to be and I enjoy that. When I use it around those who are less familiar with people-connecting apps, it has spurred some interesting conversations, providing [an] opportunity to learn more about the expectations and preferences we have for engaging with other people.

Mind sharing about some of the people you’ve met through sonar?

I was dutifully toasting Shrove Tuesday [English speak for Fat Tuesday] with pancakes at [the original London pancake house] in Holborn when I spotted Paul Mann via Sonar. He described himself as […] YCC thinker and doer [and] an adopted Eastender. As an East Londoner who appreciates a good bit of intelligent advertising and a fan of Young Creative Council, I thought I needed to say hello […] and shared celebration of a carb-filled holiday thanks to Sonar.

Tell us about how you use Sonar in the fashion space.

I’m looking forward to seeing whether we can integrate Sonar during a couple of conferences I’m co-producing this year [such as] TEDxHousesofParliament and the Influencer Conference, of which I’m London Captain. It kicked off in NYC two years ago and has grown to become a global content platform.

Connecting and engaging - that’s what we’re all about! So, what do you like most about Sonar?

My work often places me at an intersection of fields; […] while I’ve experienced lots of coincidences and by chance meetings already, I want to be active in spurring more of the same. What Sonar does is allow [me to meet others] without too much time spent looking down at a mobile device, which is perfect as enhancing (not replacing) what I would ordinarily do in ‘real life’.

The idea that this is might be part of a bigger, meaningful movement in technology that knows me, my tastes, my interests and works for me rather than have me working for it, is exciting.

She’s got us all figured out. Thanks Reeme!

DAVID NORMAN in the Sonar Spotlight…Get into it!

*Super excited and want to share your story? Give our gal @xsvengoechea a holler.

X to the O,

the Sonar Crew

Hey David! You’re the first student we’re interviewing in this series, so we’re curious, what’s it like to use Sonar on campus? 

In this week’s Sonar Spotlight, BRIAN FITZGERALD’s got it made

Sonar Spotlight, Friday Edition: Leiti Hsu!

Leiti first joined Sonar after a serendipitous meeting with Sonar’s very own founder, Brett Martin at a Starbucks in SoHo, on the hunt for a solution after her iPhone battery died. As luck would have it, Leiti ended up borrowing Brett’s charger and chatting with him for a few hours, swapping stories about startups and mutual connections. Soon after, Leiti downloaded Sonar, and has become one of our most active users yet.

Sonar is a natural fit for this friendly and outgoing gal. “Connections keep on giving,” says Leiti. “It’s not inauthentic if you’re genuinely jazzed about people. And it’s not just networking for professionals - it’s connecting for life. People are there to help you if you put yourself out there in a positive way. I like to have a snapshot for people as humans, and Sonar helps me do that.”

OH HEY THERE, KAYLA DANIELS, you’re in the Sonar Spotlight!

Hi Sonar fans! Sonar is all about getting to know people, so we want to get to know you! We love you so much we wanted to start shouting from the rooftops and singing your praises. Turns out blogging is much more effective for that sort of thing, so here we are… Without further ado, we give you the first in a series* of Sonar community spotlights.

*Want to be featured? Holler at your girl @xsvengoechea and she’ll be in touch!

X to the O,

the Sonar Crew

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Everyone, say hi to Kayla Daniels, born and raised in Colorado and currently a media specialist for the Colorado Springs Gazette. She helps businesses promote themselves and lives and breathes social media. She’s also part of our inaugural class of Android beta testers, and quite the power user at that! 

We asked Kayla a few question about how Sonar makes her heart sing and this social media sweetheart happily obliged. Below, some excerpts from our chat:

So Kayla, tell us about how you’ve been using Sonar. Business or pleasure?

Both. I used to use Foursquare to track my mileage, via an IFTTT command that posts my check ins to my Google calendar. I replaced Foursquare with Sonar, so it does that for me, but I also use it to tell friends and family where I’m at and what I’m doing. I use it about 4-5 times a day, depending on what I’m doing.

Give us some highlights. Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met through Sonar?

I have a new acquaintance, via Sonar. She and I travel in a lot of the same circles, but never met each other until Sonar showed me that we both go to the same school. I was on campus checking in when I saw that she’d also checked in, reached out via Twitter and we started talking. I was able to strike up a conversation with her based on that commonality, and shazam, we’re really surprised to see how much we have in common. We’re planning to get together for coffee later this week.

How has Sonar changed the way you interact with others?

Sonar is really great for showing me how I’m connected to other people. It’s interesting to see how many complete strangers and I share friends and connections. I live in a city of about half a million people, and it seems I’m connected to a much larger number of them than I’d ever thought.

Sonar is awesome for….

Finding new people, making new friends,showing how you’re connected to people near you. It’s like seven degrees of Kevin Bacon. Only, I’m Kevin Bacon, just less Footloose.