- An exclusive interview with Thumb CEO and founder Dan Kurani
Like many great ideas, Thumb began with something small.
Six years ago, future founder and CEO Dan Kurani watched as relatives ignored an email request from a family member. The message asked for opinions about an attached photo of an engagement ring. Although he responded to the query, others did not.
It was at this moment that a seed was planted in Kurani's mind: Was there an opportunity here to create a mobile tool which could aid a shopper in emotional, point-of-purchase decisions?
By taking a photo of a product with a mobile device while out shopping, a consumer could upload the item and ask for opinions or suggestions from friends, contacts, or the general public and receive instant feedback.
Thus Thumb, 2011 winner of Best Social Networking App for Android, was born.
Kurani believes that "opinions often tell you a lot about people's values and beliefs."
Thumb users spend an average of 3.5 hours on the site per month. From a structure data standpoint, the average user shares 6 opinions per day, with more than 25% of the respondents also leaving some kind of text-based response.
Community members can filter questions they want to vote on by category, creating a personalized, streamlined experience for the community by allowing people with similar interests and values to interact with each other.
The high level of interaction on the app seems to suggest that Kurani's theory is correct.
Thumb 101
During our interview, Kurani walked me through a tutorial of Thumb for the iPhone. See the photo tutorial here. After a quick download and the option to log-in via Facebook or with an email address, I uploaded a photo of my pink Aldo shoes (hey, I'm a fashion examiner, too!).
Along with the photo, I asked the public what they thought of the shoes and if they had any suggestions. Within two or three minutes of my question going out to the Thumb community, I had over 70 thumbs up, thumbs down, or neutral responses; 35 of which also had some kind of text response.
I got answers suggesting that I add a matching bag, a few dislikes, and lots of the ubiquitous "Nice" comments. But what was far more engaging than the actual responses, upon first glance, was the speed with which strangers were engaging each other about shared topics and interests.
Thumbs up?
One of the big draws of the opinion-based app, which does have a website but whose primary use case is mobile, is that everything is real-time. Thumb moves so fast, in fact, that you get answers a lot more quickly than you'd expect.
"Rather than ten, the volume of responses was 50-75 responses per question," explained Kurani. "We were shocked."
The volume of responses was surpassed only by the breadth of the questions. Only 5% actually pertained to shopping, when the app launched; "the other 95% related to some social" - appearance, drink, food, TV, etc.
The site, formerly named Opinionaided, is meant to get people talking; it has a built-in interests tab of 26 categories for questions. If someone says something helpful, you can give them a gold star, or start a private conversation about the topic.
Speaking of privacy, the responses you receive are private; only you can see them. Same goes with the ones you give. Someone says something offensive? Flag the comment.
If you're into the social scene, however, you can share your own queries and photos through a Facebook plugin or email. Twitter integration is about six months out, Kurani says.
Dexterity and diversity
Beyond asking others for an opinion, Thumb users can leave their own opinion about... well, just about anything.
"In a news context, it lets you know what people really think about these things," says Kurani. In short, the app isn't only good for asking questions about fashion or fun; the site has a deeper social context, wherein users inquire about recent political or newsworthy events, probing each other to offer real opinions.
The amount of engagement on a mobile and easy-to-use platform was initially a draw for a slightly younger demographic, anywhere from the 13-24-year-old age group, although Thumb has "seen diversification toward the 18-34-year-old range."
The interactive network app also has a slight female majority, like other user content-curated sites such as Pinterest.
Based in New York, the startup, launched in July 2010, has raised 5.5 million in funding to date. With 15 employees and an active, "opinionaided" user community, Thumb continues to grow.
*Ed. Note: Thank you to Christina Shatzen of VSCpr, and Dan Kurani of Thumb, for taking the time to chat with me.
Visit the Thumb website or download the Thumb app for iOS or Android: http://thumb.it/
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