Vamos has launched a version 2.0 which the startup says will provide a more social way to discover events, as it looks to build user engagement and retention. New functionalities in the improved iOS app include a redesigned events page which integrates into one place start and finishing times, map directions, which of your friends are going and photos taken from the event itself.
There is also a new Star button which works as a bookmarking tool for interesting events. Vamos, a finalist at the Mobile Premier Awards in Barcelona recently, showcases more than 100,000 Facebook events around the world each week, and co-founder Luis-Daniel Alegria told Silicon Allee the team wants to make the user experience a more “addictive” one.
Adding social components to version 2.0 was an important part of that process, he added, so alongside the RSVP function, users can now invite people directly to an event.
Luis said: “Since the last version, we have been concentrating on how to make Vamos a more addictive experience, and what we have figured out is the less friction there is in getting into the actual content, the better the overall experience. … The idea is to bring out the best of events and present it to the user in a more visually appealing way.”
In addition, icons have been improved to make the platform easier to navigate while the look of each event is inspired by its original poster, and the new app’s bookmarking function can be added to your recent activities on Facebook as part of efforts to better connect Vamos with social networks to make it a “more engaging and more fun event exploration platform.”
The team is hoping the new app will increase user retention, specifically by encouraging usage on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; days which so far have shown a significant drop off from the weekend.
“We’ve been working hard making Vamos more viral,” Luis added, “and overall making event discovery more beautiful.”
Vamos has been releasing regular updates since its launch last year. It has also looked to crowdsourcing on several occasions, most famously with its ‘hackday of destiny‘ in 2012 which was repeated in January. Most recently, the team took to Facebook to ask users to translate the platform into a variety of languages including Portuguese, French and Russia – and within two days, it had been largely achieved in some 12 different tongues.