The best way to test your own app is to use it for practical experiences in the real world. To that end, we gave our little old productivity tool a run for its money yesterday, coordinating some environmental outings as an ode to our lovely mother earth, on her special day.

We quickly created a group with our own employees and various other participants, sharing admin privileges, so members of the group could invite other people. Sure enough, when it came time to meet at a nearby beach to do some general cleanup, an in-app message and subsequent push notification sent a link with driving directions to all the members of the group. There was also a note about needing to dress warm because Spring has not really sprung in the Northeast yet, and another about needing boots to navigate the marshes at low tide.

Not only was the outing a success and an affirmation of the mobile handiness deets provides for quickly mobilizing and communicating the right information with the right people, we didn’t waste a single shred of paper communicating. Happy Earth Day!

Get deets for iPhone app / Android

Would you want to be tagged in this pic?

Whether you’re headed to Cancun with your sorority sisters, bound for Miami beach with a couple work buds, or thinking about a road trip to Lake Havasu for some house boating, it’s likely your vacation and related antics will be cataloged and shared, with the world.

So before you get tagged in a Facebook photo funneling beer in your bikini, months before a potential employer comes across the same photo while reviewing your job application for junior analyst, might we suggest a more private way to share pics and info with your peeps?

Yes, we can correct this problem, lowering the anxiety levels of everyone misbehaving over the course of the next couple weeks. Have fun, stay connected, maintain your social integrity, use deets.

iPhone app / Android

Cheers

It was a late night for many, watching Seth MacFarlane preside of the over 85th Annual Academy Awards. I’m guessing there are some in Hollywood who are just getting home, as I write this. So I suppose it’s all relative.

Anyway, we started thinking about how celebs and other hobnobbers trade contact info at after-parties, between coddling statues and raising glasses of champagne. Surely there is talk about movies, casting and collaboration. There must be conversations about “doing lunch,” or about having “your people call my people.”

What a challenge this must be, for a group of folks whose contact information and privacy are a top priority. What if I want to share my home phone with Sally Fields, but am leaning more towards dishing my agent’s details to a couple would-be-directors rambling about the best screenplay since Water World?

We have an app for that. Not to say the driver for the development of deets had anything to do with the Oscars, with acting, or with Hollywood in particular. Again, the idea is to allow people to share and synchronize the right information with the right people. In some cases, this may include personal details, in other instances it may include limited professional information. Suppose it depends on the celebrity, or perhaps the after party.

Regardless, technology has come a long way since Abraham Lincoln was in office.

Download our iPhone app today or get deets for Android in the Google Play store.

deets allows users to turn push notifications on or off for each group, ensuring you get the info you need, when you need it. Whether it’s an alert from the little league coach in the “Cardinals” group informing parents of a field change, or a message from your “New Orleans 2013” group about where to meet at Jazz Fest, you’re in control, and you can bank on getting those time-sensitive updates.

Safe to say there may be other groups whose information is less pressing. We’re not sure you need push notifications relaying trash-talking jabs from friends in your “Fantasy Football” group, or glam shots from your cousin on her way to the prom in your “Extended Family” group.

But who are we to tell you what’s important? That’s kinda the point, and a big part of why we created deets. You get to decide what people, groups, and information are important to YOU.

Streamline communication, for good, and for free.

Download the iPhone app today or get deets for Android in the Google Play store.

Hint: Simply hit the “edit” button on your deets dashboard, choose a group and adjust the push settings.

The world’s population is constantly dividing itself based on beliefs, music, food preferences, and yes, technology. So it should come as no surprise that the world’s smartphone users are divided into groups: mainly Android and iPhone users (Yes, we’re excluding the remaining Blackberry users. Apologies.).

After months of development on the Android platform, we have come to understand and appreciate the different perspectives and preferences of the “droid” users. In fact, a few of our team members have jumped ship, leaving the world of iOS behind. Based on the feature set and user experience, not to mention the cost of the beautiful Google and Samsung devices, it’s hard not to blame them.

Nonetheless, we like to think of our application as an agnostic platform, one that does not choose sides at all, but rather, works to bridge natural gaps in an effort to bring people together. After all, deets supports any kind of group, with all kinds of members. Vegans and carnivores might find themselves in the same family group. Yankess and Redsox fans might end up bucketed into the same work group. Buddhists, omnivores, truckers, vampires, hair stylists; all could easily find themselves swapping relevant information and messages for the same PTA group. That’s the idea: one communication platform for all the people.

Though it is a roundabout announcement for our Android release, that is how we do things around here. We don’t hard-sell ourselves or our application. We merely offer it up as a way to potentially solve problems or overcome hurdles. On your marks, get set…download the newest member of the deets family from the Google play store. “It’s easy if you try.”

Team deets

Yeah, so you’re probably not talking about your New Year’s Eve plans on Facebook, unless you’re going to see Phish at the Garden or heading to Times Square, in which case you don’t care who knows. For those of us looking to make more private plans with actual friends and relatives, the traditional social channels don’t cut it—not unless you want some rando from high school showing up with a bottle of peppermint schnapps and a game of Twister.

We’re assuming, however, that you are hosting or heading to a smaller, more intimate gathering. There may be dinner, alcohol for those of age, music, even dancing. You may find yourself wearing a bejeweled tiara, ringing in the fabled new year with a classy or sloppy kiss, depending on the party. We’re all in favor. We’re simply suggesting you rally your troops using a platform we invented for communicating with a few people in private about things not meant to be shared, blasted or tweeted publicly, including your pics of said New Year’s kiss.

Keep in mind, we’re only iPhone and interweb friendly at the moment, but our New Year’s resolution is to have that pesky Android app complete in like a week or two.

Get the party started, in private, with deets. Click here to download our iPhone app.

Have a safe and happy New Year! Team deets

We are nerdy and proud. We like technology, dig extra terrestrials, and have been accused of living in our own galaxy, far far away. To that end, we know it takes a keen Jedi sense when properly gifting your favorite fanboy. So from our team to yours, here’s a handy guide to warming the hearts and minds of the geeks in your life.

Toys and stuff
You’re never too old for a good vintage action figure, or an artful vinyl doll. Here are a few favorite spots for online procurement of throwback, unique, and in some cases very limited editions toys, not to mention a slew of other inventive treasures.

thinkgeek.com – This hub for all things geeky has tons of stuff, from new Minecraft gear, to a whole category dedicated to bacon.
myplasticheart.com – The name sorta says it all. Looking for designer toys and collectibles? Be still your beating plastic heart.
kidrobot.com – These guys have brick and mortar stores in a few marquee spots like New York and Las Vegas, as well as a pretty bitchin’ online store. Get these limited edition dolls while you can. They come and go fast, and for good reason.
entertainmentearth.com – This hub for action figures and more action figures, as well as busts and models of heroes and villains alike, makes for hours of aimless browsing, and the occasional purchase score.

Tees
Nothing says “I love you” like a real sweet tee with a laser kitten or some inane reference to primal geekery.

bustedtees.com – This online store is packed with hilarious and poignant options for those with a relaxed commitment to their “business casual” attire.
threadless.com – One of the coolest websites ever invented, this artist-submitted user-voted platform for tees and apparel has paid out over seven million dollars to designers around the world. In the process, they have revolutionized the tee shirt industry, and offered shoppers breakthrough and affordable ways to express themselves.

The cut-off for online purchase and delivery is right around the corner, so don’t delay. If you have any questions or want our input, hit us up on twitter @sharedeets. Happy holidays!

We’re always messing around with new group ideas. Some are pretty breakthrough, some not so much. It’s all based on exploring different ways we can use deets – group type (long term vs. short term), the group size, the members (friends, family, colleagues), and the purpose of the group. We’re always asking how we can leverage the platform to make our offline lives easier and more productive.

With all this experimenting, we’re finding some pretty cool ways to use the app—both through feedback from our team, as well as from our growing user base.

More recent favorites include short-term holiday groups, like our CMO’s “Naughty or Nice” group, meant to help his larger family, with multiple generations, sort out who wants what for Christmas.

With threaded messaging and conversation topic titling, users can create a bit of back and forth for each family member, sharing links to gift information and pricing, along with relevant images, etc.

The deets “sidebar” feature also allows group members to communicate privately about gifting logistics, so secrets are kept and surprises aren’t spoiled.

Whether your group is focused solely on gifting, or aims to handle other holiday logistics, like decorating the tree, planning a feast, taking a ski trip, or watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, deets can provide a solution to the challenge of keeping communication organized and keeping people in sync.

This we know for sure. What’s presumably still in question is whether you’re on the naughty or the nice list this year. Thankfully, someone else is in charge of those lists.

Download our brand new version from the iTunes store for free, or try deets online here.

Team deets