Two guys are sitting in their hammocks when one turns to the other and says, "Hey let's hit a happy hour." Sounds like the opening line of a joke, but for Brian Chaplin, a Baltimore-area bartender, and Tom Camposano, a fireman, it turned into their big idea.
"We looked at our iPhone because we thought we'd be able to find a good solution. But we couldn't find anything we were happy with that had had good information," Chaplin recalls.
So the two decided to create their own app. They hired a developer to write the code and Chaplin bought TK and a book on how to use them. Their goal was to design an app that offered users the most accurate and up to date information.
The easiest way to do that was the pair decided was to have bars subscribe to the service. Bars receive access to a private website that allows them to update their information whenever they choose. The new details are instantly available.
Bars can also use the app's "dispatch" function to send blasts out to app users to alert them to last minute drink and dining specials, or any other information they want to get out. "That's limited only by their creativity. We wanted it to be more than just a tool to send out information, but also a means of communication too," Chaplin explains.
The application also needed to have a user-friendly interface, be fun to use and have the look and feel of Baltimore, says Chaplin. "There're a bunch of happy hour apps out there that are national, but they don't give you that warm and fuzzy feeling. We put that into it and people have really responded well to it."
One year later, and Chaplin and Camposano's Dilly Dally Apps, Llc, released the app. "We kept adding new features and making it better, but finally we got it to the point where we think it's a cool thing."
A one-year subscription to the service is $250. Chaplin says they kept the price low to make it possible for any bar owner to join the service. "We want to capture the majority of bars. That was another problem with the other apps, they were missing a lot of bars. So we set the price low so that bars would be interested in joining."
The free "Baltimore Happy Hour" app is available at the Apple App Store. It includes a map which displays participating bars with a drop down menu to select specific neighborhoods. There's also a list of member bars and the dispatch page where bars post their alerts. The taxi page enables users to call a cab with a single click and contact page for users to interact with the app's owners.
Users of the app can also send updates via buttons linked to their Twitter and Facebook accounts or email their friends to let them know which bar they'll be headed to that day. The messages will include the name of the bar and that day's special.
Chaplin says that he hopes to generate a grassroots movement among the app's users. "They can help us spread the word by showing the app to bar owners and also liking our Facebook page."
Future plans include an app for the Droid as well as expansion into the suburbs to the north and south of the city.
Source: Brian Chaplin, Dilly Dally Apps
Writer: Walaika Haskins