Visor Lets You See How Crowded Places Are In Real Time
What’s the line outside of the club like? Are there parking spots available? Are people swimming at the beach? Visor is a handy app that allows you to get information about any place in the world thanks to real-time photos taken by those nearby.
Visor allows people to send out a request to get information about what’s going on in a particular spot, and the idea is that within minutes you’ll get a notification that someone nearby has taken a photo there. People also have the ability to upload pictures when they see something like a big sale, a pop-up event, perhaps a traffic disturbance, etc. These visual reports are then added to a map for people to browse from anywhere in the world. Along with information about what others are seeing and doing, the app compiles images about urban news which can influence your decision making. Based on the information you can get from Visor it’s then possible to get a better idea of how to plan your next move, route home, or night out.
However, Visor might have a tough time finding its place between app giants that let people snap and share what their doing and where they are. Given the huge appeal of Twitter you’ll most likely find the information you’re looking for on that platform first, and Instagram already rules the playing field when it comes to sharing pictures of your food, friends, fashion, and basically everything else. Although, Visor’s aim is to create and maintain a network of users who share real-time updates about what’s going on around them. It’s the pairing of pictures to maps which makes Visor appealing, as it maps those micro-events happening all over the city, allowing you to navigate your way and make decisions. CEO Jason White is calling it “Street View 2.0”, and like Google streetview, Visor can give you visual information about anywhere in the world- but updated frequently and much more specific although as of now it is not as complete.
Like other crowsourcing apps, Visor will only really work in places where people are already using it. For now, while the app is being rolled out, most of the action is in New York City but who knows, it may take off in a city near you quite soon.
