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Whrrl v2.0 Adds SMS and Digital Camera Support

Posted by admin on March 26, 2009 · 2 Comments 

Our official press release, announcing SMS and Digital Camera support:

Anyone Can Participate in Whrrl Stories Through SMS and Eye-Fi Enabled Digital Cameras

Whrrl v2.0

SEATTLE, Wash. – March 26, 2009 – Pelago today announced that their recently launched product, Whrrl v2.0, has expanded to enable virtually anyone with a mobile phone or digital camera to participate. In addition to the recently launched iPhone application, users will now be able to capture and share their real-world stories, as they happen, in the following ways:

•  SMS and Email: By sending simple SMS text messages, mobile phone users can join the service, create or join an existing story, and update their stories with text and photos. Photos are sent via email or MMS. See a tutorial here.

• Digital Cameras: Through a partnership with Eye-Fi, digital camera owners can now snap, upload and share their high-quality photos directly from their camera to Whrrl v2.0 via an Eye-Fi wireless memory card. Pictures are uploaded in real-time and automatically appear in the user’s current story. Learn more here.

Eye-Fi

“Starting now, anyone with a Motorola RAZR or any other mobile phone can create Whrrl v2.0 stories in real-time,” said Jeff Holden, Founder and CEO of Pelago. “And if you’re in a dark environment or want to capture higher quality photos than the phone provides, you can use your digital camera and still have your photos appear in your Whrrl story instantly. Ultimately, these two new offerings allow almost everyone to share stories with Whrrl v2.0.”

“Whrrl users are fanatical about sharing their real-world experiences and now they can quickly and easily add in pictures taken with their digital camera,” said Ziv Gillat, Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development at Eye-Fi. “With Eye-Fi, all they have to do is snap a photo and it will upload automatically through their wireless network to Whrrl.”

Whrrl v2.0 enables people to capture and share their real-world experiences as they happen.

Through location, photos and text updates, people can easily turn everyday life moments into collaborative stories that can be remembered, organized and shared. Users have complete control over who can view their story and are given the option to broadcast each story’s unique URL as a status update on Facebook and Twitter. Whrrl v2.0 recently launched as an iPhone application on the Apple App Store and is also integrated with Facebook Connect. In addition, anyone can visit the Whrrl v2.0 Web site (whrrl.com) to view, edit, share and comment on stories.

About Pelago

Pelago is committed to developing innovative products that remove all barriers to information, inspiration and human connection. Their flagship storytelling product, Whrrl v2.0, enables people to capture and share the moments of their lives, as they happen. The company is based in Seattle, founded in 2006, and led by an executive team from companies including Amazon, RealNetworks and Yahoo. Pelago is backed by pioneering Internet and mobile investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, T-Venture, Bezos Expeditions, Trilogy Equity Partners, and Reliance Technology Ventures. For more information, please visit www.pelago.com and whrrl.com.

About Eye-Fi

Founded in 2005, Eye-Fi is dedicated to building products and services that help consumers navigate, nurture and share their visual memories. Eye-Fi’s patent-pending technology works with Wi-Fi networks to automatically send photos and videos from a digital camera to online, in-home and retail destinations. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., the company’s investors include LMS Capital, Opus Capital, Shasta Ventures and TransLink Capital. For more information, visit www.eye.fi.

CONTACTS:

Heather Meeker
Pelago
310.435.3535
heather@pelago.com

Gina Weakley
Red Consultancy for Eye Fi
415.618.8809
gina.weakley@redconsultancy.com

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Use Whrrl via SMS to Share Location and more…

Posted by Danielle Morrill on September 17, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

Don’t have a fancy phone? Did you know you can use Whrrl with text messages to share your location, post notes, search for places, invite friends, and discover things to do while you’re on the go? In this post I’ve included a list of the 5 most used commands, but first for those of you like me (read: with a short attention span), David and his brother Jason will show how Whrrl SMS helps to connect you with your friends in the real world, in real time.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/1749663[/vimeo]

Getting Started

To create a Whrrl account send a text (it can say anything) to 94775. This five digit number is called a shortcode, and ours spells WHRRL.  If you want to stop receiving messages from Whrrl just send STOP (to 94775).

Top 5 SMS Commands

Instead of explaining all 24 commands, I’m going to quickly describe the 5 most useful and crucial things you can do with Whrrl SMS on your phone.  Whrrl SMS is conversational, so each message you receive will include some suggested responses at the bottom.  You can send MENU to get a list of commands at any time.

Share Your Location

Send a message like @ purple cafe in Seattle or AT purple cafe in Seattle.

If there is more than one possible match, you’ll get a list of search results.  Respond with the number of the result that is correct (a message like 2).  People you have whitelisted as being able to see your location will be notified of where you are, based on their notification settings.

Search For Places

Send a command like SEARCH open now near 1st ave and pine st or SEARCH thai in Seattle to get a list of places that match your criteria.  I’ve also had a lot of success with SEARCH free wifi in San Francisco (I gave it a more specific location in Nob Hill).

The more specific the location you give, the more relevant (and walkable) the results will be.

Shout (send a message to all your friends)

Send a message like SHOUT hey who’s up for going out tonight? or SHOUT is anyone in the office who can let me in? (I do the second one often) and your message will be broadcast to all your friends on Whrrl.

Invite a Friend

Send a message like INVITE 4256987497 (that’s my real phone number – friend me!) to invite someone to become friends with you on Whrrl.  If they are not already a Whrrl user they will be invited to join.

Read Your Feed

Send FEED to see all the most recent activity in your feed.

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So that’s really it, there are more commands and some shortcuts but I’ll save those for another post. There’s also info in our FAQ, if you just can’t wait for that post.  If you’ve got questions, we’re always ready to answer them at feedback@whrrl.com or on Get Satisfaction.

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Share Your Whrrl Location and Status on Twitter

Posted by Sunil Garg on August 19, 2008 · 2 Comments 

Hey Whrrlers! I’m an intern from the University of Washington spending this summer working with Pelago’s web team. Like many of you, I’ve wanted to connect my Whrrl and Twitter accounts for a while. Today I’m happy to announce this wish has come true.

Now you can share where you’re going and what you’re doing with your followers on Twitter. If you choose, your status and/or location updates on Whrrl can be published to your Twitter account in real time, whether you update Whrrl via the web, SMS, or on your mobile phone.

How to Link Your Twitter and Whrrl Accounts

To get started, log in at www.whrrl.com, go to the twitter tab of your Whrrl settings, and link your account. It’s that simple.

Want to stay up-to-date with Whrrl?
You can subscribe to this blog and follow @Whrrl on Twitter.

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Whrrl’s goin’ to Noise Pop!

Posted by admin on February 25, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

T-Minus the rest of the day and a two-hour flight until Whrrl touches down in San Francisco for Noise Pop 2008! This year we’re the official web and mobile sponsor for San Francisco’s biggest music festival.

Along with our crew of over-caffeinated Whrrlers, we’re bringing to San Francisco prizes, cool swag, and a great SMS experience specifically designed for Noise Pop. The last few weeks we’ve been putting in long hours to pull this all together (can you see the hard work?) and everyone is super excited for Tuesday and Mika Miko’s kick off performance at Rickshaw Stop.

If you can make it, keep your eyes open for us as we’ll be giving out free stuff at the venues. If you can’t, you can at least see pictures of us having fun on this blog.

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