COMPANY
LocaModa turns screens that people normally ignore into screens they can't resist. By connecting digital networks with social media and mobile messaging, we enable over 100,000,000 people a month to interact with their environments in thousands of venues and high-traffic public spaces in ways never before possible. Our cross-channel platform combines the reach of television with the interactivity and measurability of the web. LocaModa is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
What’s the story behind LocaModa?
In London, England, 2001, Stephen Randall, was working at Symbian, the global mobile operating system company he helped found. Stephen struggled with one question in those days: Why was the mobile phone having such a major impact on life in Europe and Asia but not in the US, where mobile technology was 4-5 years behind the rest of the world? In Boston, MA, at exactly the same time, Steve An was pondering the same question.
“The Two Steves,” as they became known, met in 2002 through a Symbian-led joint venture. They were excited to discover that they had developed a similar and, at the time, pioneering vision – that the mobile phone will connect to the web and become a universal remote control to help broadcast life. And all screens (TV, Web, Phone, and what would later be dubbed Digital Out of Home) would be connected. They named this vision “The Web Outside”.
They built a prototype that connected websites, mobile phones and venue screens. They placed their first screen in the renowned Someday Café in Somerville. As soon as that screen went up, customers were eager to interact using it to promote local politics, chat and send messages.
The venues liked the fact that their customers were engaged, customers started to write about that experience, and advertisers asked if they could sponsor the experience. Today, LocaModa enables real-time user generated content from all over the world, and brands can sponsor and be part of those experiences as well.
Does the name LocaModa mean anything?
LocaModa stands for Location + Mobile + Data. LocaModa does not, as some people have claimed, mean crazy fashion – even though we’re all a bit crazy and some of us have been known to don the occasional black crewneck sweater.
What is LocaModa’s technology built on?
LocaModa’s technology has been built to scale by people passionate about doing the right thing and doing the thing right. We use Java (for back-end message management and routing), MySQL (database), Rails (web) and Flash (DOOH and web display). All of this operates with the help of Amazon S3 (virtual storage) and SOLR (full text search).
What’s next for LocaModa?
We continue to work around the clock to help digital out of home platformize, defragment, and gain substantial value. We feel that continually making our App Store better will help this cause. We are also continuing to scale our model to other verticals such as TV based on feedback and requests. Interactive, web based, social TV is not far off.