Loopt In

The Newer Loopt for iPhone and iPod touch.

Hi all, 

Thanks for being patient with us. We released the new Loopt last week but it had some performance issues so, since then, we’ve been working around the clock to get them fixed. In addition, we’ve also tried to address some of the great feedback we’ve been getting from the Loopt community. 

You’ll be happy to hear that the newer Loopt for the iPhone and iPod touch is now available in the App Store. 

Here are the improvements: 

• Much faster load times and performance improvements
• Push notifications enabled
• Easier to find Friends Map
• Defaults to previously used tab

Check out the new Loopt demo video:

 

Hope you enjoy it, 
The Loopt Team

Maybe we should make a Loopt Fail Whale

Hi all,

Here’s the good news: the new Loopt for the iPhone and iPod touch is now available in the App Store. Yay! 

The bad news: we expect heavy volume in the coming days as people update and this means you will probably be experiencing some unfortunate performance issues – such as really extreme slowness.

We’re working around the clock to fix these issues but some of them are going to require us to submit an update to the App Store. We’ll keep you posted on our progress via Twitter so make sure to follow us there if you want updates.  

Cool,
The Loopt Team 

p.s. - If you want to see how the new Loopt for iPhone and iPod touch should work when it’s running smoothly, be sure to check out the video.

Loopt-Twitter Linkage: Top Dog Walk

Dana and Vijay are dog-loving people who share an affinity for fur, fun, and long walks on the beach, so they started Top Dog Walk - a dog walking service on the east coast of Virginia. As part of their service they’re letting the owners of the dogs join them on their walks in real-time using Loopt-Twitter link. Here’s their story:

Before starting Top Dog Walk, my husband and I worked in advertising. I worked in the digital arm of the ad agency and so, was on the forefront of developing technology in social media. One tool that EVERYONE in our industry seemed to be latching onto was Loopt.

When we got the ball rolling for our business, we couldn't help but let our ad-training influence us: how cool would it be to tell prospective clients that they could go on virtual walks with us? To not only see a picture of their pooch on the walk, but to have it geo-tagged so they knew where we actually were - at the ice cream shop on Colley Avenue or at the fire hydrant on 21st street?

The answer: it's awesome.

We recently had a client switch to us by referral because her previous dog walker wasn't actually coming to walk their dog. It was a great feeling to be able to say: "You'll know we're walking your dog the minute we're walking him because of this awesome (and incredibly FREE) service called Loopt."

One of our regulars, Huck (see below), has become quite popular with his extended family because of our Loopt-Twitter posts. His owner's boyfriend and his parents have gone from not even knowing who Huck was (since they live in different cities from Huck's owner), to specifically requesting that Huck be brought on visits to see them.

So, as you can see, it's not just the owners who benefit - it's everyone with an internet connection and a soft spot for cute dogs.

So thanks for making us look good, Loopt! You're definitely Top Dog in our book (har...har...har).

best,
Dana (the wife) + Vijay (the husband) + The Top Dog Team

Did you know that you can use Loopt to update your Twitter status? You can choose to include pictures and locations on your updates to Twitter as well. If you want to enable Loopt-Twitter integration, just log-in to your Loopt account online at www.loopt.com and click on the Twitter icon to get started (or click here).

What are YOUR dog’s favorite places to walk? Leave us your comments with links from your Loopt tweets!

Convos with the Loopt Community: E-mail Notifications

We receive a lot of great feedback from the Loopt community that is invaluable in allowing us to improve our service. We understand that it isn’t always clear how your feedback is being received so we wanted to let you know what’s going on at Loopt to address your issues/suggestions.

Question:

-Brian, via Get Satisfaction

Answer:

Many members of the Loopt community, including Brian, have requested the ability to receive e-mail notifications rather than text messages on their Loopt activity. We’re happy to announce that we just rolled out an improvement that allows you to do that.

Just log-in to your Loopt account online via loopt.com and click on Settings in the top right corner. Now select Text & Email Alerts in the left column.

Here you can choose if and how you’d like to be notified of your Loopt activity - through email notifications or text messages. Loopt activity notification settings can be adjusted for Friend Requests, Friend Alerts (not yet available for iPhone users), New Comments, and Pings & Pongs.

If you’d like to receive e-mail notifications on your Loopt activity, make sure to click on the “Visit the edit contact info page” link and add your e-mail address to your contact information. Click on “Save Changes” to save your settings (you can always return to this page to change them).

Eventually, you’ll be able to make these adjustments straight from the Loopt application but, in the meantime, head to loopt.com and log-in to your Loopt account on your browser to change notification settings.

We hope this helps! Leave us a comment and let us know.

-Chris

Loopt self-help resources:
• Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.loopt.com/help
• Forum for Comments/Ideas/Questions: http://getsatisfaction.com/loopt
• List of Currently Supported Carriers/Devices: http://www.loopt.com/phones
• Password Resets and Number Changes: http://support.loopt.com

The Inaugural Experience Online

Nick was one of the lucky few to be in DC for the historic inauguration of President Obama. As he writes, “I wanted to make a point to include as many people in the experience as I could.” Nick had a problem though: how could he make updates to Twitter, Facebook, and Wordpress all simultaneously? His answer: Loopt. For Tuesday’s ceremony, he implemented Loopt Link features to allow for maximum reach. With Loopt, his “Blackberry was in control of every Loopt journal entry, Tweet, Facebook status and post at nickganga.com.”

To learn more, check out: http://nickganga.com/?p=565

Convos with the Loopt Community: Facebook Linking

We receive a lot of great feedback from the Loopt community that is invaluable in allowing us to improve our service. We understand that it isn’t always clear how your feedback is being received so we wanted to let you know what’s going on at Loopt to address your issues/suggestions.

Question:

“Loopt is only updating my Facebook status occasionally. I do not know why it does it…and mostly it does not. However, when I go to Loopt Link and then try to re-link (it says Facebook already gave permission) then it seems to update for awhile…then it stops later. Can you help?”

-Mike, via e-mail

Answer:

Mike was right. Many members of the Loopt community were experiencing this issue - it was one of the most popular topics on our Loopt forum. We’re happy to announce that we just rolled out an improvement that should make Facebook linking much more reliable.

If you already have the Loopt: Where It Is application for Facebook, you can take advantage of the update by going to your Facebook page, then choosing Applications in the lower left, and going to Loopt: Where It Is (if you don’t already have Loopt’s Facebook application, you can get it here: http://apps.facebook.com/-loopt-/).

Once on the Loopt: Where It Is application page, near the top on the right hand side, make sure you’ve completed Step 1 (Allow Status Update), Step 2 (Allow Offline Access), and right below those, Link to Your Loopt Phone (see below). Once you’ve done all those things, double click anywhere on the map and set a status. This finalizes the link, and from then on, updating your Loopt status from your phone or computer will update your Facebook status unless you return to this page and change your settings.

We hope this helps! Leave us a comment and let us know.

-Chris

 

Loopt self-help resources:

• Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.loopt.com/help

• Forum for Comments/Ideas/Questions: http://getsatisfaction.com/loopt

• List of Currently Supported Carriers/Devices: http://www.loopt.com/phones

• Password Resets and Number Changes: http://support.loopt.com

Loopt Mix in Action: Reunitin'

If you have Loopt on your iPhone, check out Loopt Mix.  Loopt Mix allows you to connect with other Loopt community members nearby who share common interests and affiliations.  We asked Loopt Mix users to share their best Loopt Mix story with us - here's what Topher had to say:

 

 

"I was at a concert on the weekend and, while using Loopt Mix, I was able to see that an old high school friend I've lost contact with for the past 4 years was there too!  So I messaged her and we ended up meeting up at the concert and had a blast!  I would have never known she was there nor would I have had the chance to see her if it were not for Loopt Mix.  Just thought it was really cool."

 

 

If you have an entertaining Loopt Mix story, e-mail it to us at [email protected] and we'll share it here!

Loopt Mix in Action: Surfin'

We asked Loopt Mix users to share their best Loopt Mix story with us and received some great responses.  Here's Brad's story:

 

 

"I love to surf, but I don't like to go alone. Not only because it's more fun, but you get there faster with the carpool lane.  So, I search for people that surf.  I send out a few invites and I can usually get an answer pretty fast. And, we are off to go surfing!  I love that I can invite people to drive with me, or search while I am at the beach for people that are already there!  Loopt Mix ROCKS!!!"

 

 

If you have an entertaining Loopt Mix story, e-mail it to us at [email protected] and we'll share it here.

iPhone Invite Update

Hi All.  Thank you again for all the constructive feedback.  We’re working hard to digest all the incoming comments and questions and make changes to the Loopt service where needed. We’ve also enjoyed  hearing from everyone out there having fun with Loopt to stay connected with friends.

Just wanted to let you know that the team is still hard at work testing the changes to the iPhone invite process and we plan to get that out to you very soon. All friend invites from the iPhone have been temporarily disabled so that we can fix the issue more quickly. In the meantime, you can still login from the website and invite friends. We will keep you posted on the status.

As always, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Improved iPhone Invites

Sorry, everyone. Our bad.

We’ve received a lot of feedback over the past few days regarding the new Loopt friend-invitation process. Loopt takes privacy and user feedback very seriously, and we are especially sensitive to doing anything that makes our users unhappy.

The Loopt team has been working around the clock to respond to these issues, gather input and improve the Loopt service as quickly as possible. Thanks for letting us know what you do and don’t like.

Yesterday, we started hearing that people were unhappy with the way we sent invites to current Loopt users already in your phonebook. If a user clicked the "Who's on Loopt button", we checked his or her phone book for other Loopt users. The mistake we made was automatically selecting them, so if the user then hit Send, they might inadvertently send more invites than they meant to. We immediately disabled that feature. We don’t store your contact list, and it should go without saying we would never sell it or share it with a third party.

We now have a much better invite process. It’s beginning our testing process now and will be available soon. We’ve included a screenshot so you can see how it works.

With the first option, users can send an invitation text by directly entering the number of someone he/she knows.  The second option allows you to see which of your contacts are already on Loopt, on a Loopt-supported carrier, or on a non-Loopt supported carrier.  None of the contacts are automatically selected.  If the friend is already on Loopt, the application allows you to send a friend request to him/her.  The third option simply allows you to view your contact list without any Loopt labels about whether or not they are on Loopt or on a Loopt-supported carrier.  As with option two, you select the contacts to whom you want to send text invites.

Finally, many people that don’t want Loopt have written that they’d like to stop receiving invitations to the service from their friends. Loopt itself never initiates an SMS to you, but if you don’t want to get any from your friends either, we’ve made it even easier to let us know you never want another SMS from us—just send STOP to any Loopt-related message you get. As always, you can email us at [email protected] and we’ll take care of it.

Thank you again for your feedback and please keep it coming. We hope you will continue to use Loopt.  And thanks also to the people who write to let us know how much they love the service.  For more information about Loopt’s privacy practices, please visit http://www.loopt.com/about/privacy-security. If you have more questions, I’d love to hear them. Please drop me a note at [email protected] .

Sorry again,
Sam