barHappy Update
In early 2012 we took a look at an up and coming website called barHappy, a web and mobile based service that provides various information focused towards nightlife at bars, clubs, and restaurants. Since that time, barHappy has enhanced their service on a number of different levels and recently launched their new look website and mobile app to illustrate the improvements.
When barHappy approached us about reviewing the improvements, we gladly took a look and had the chance to pick the brain of barHappy Managing Member, James Fisher Sr. Here’s what the new barHappy has to offer.
What’s New?
For those unfamiliar with barHappy, it’s a free community centered around nightlife which includes bars, clubs and restaurants. For more insight on what barHappy offers, check out Need A New Hangout? Use barHappy To Find It.
Visually, much has changed. The new barHappy website is light years ahead of its predecessor with a very polished, modern look. Finding a hangout or destination is like floating down a river – a steady, forward flowing approach designed to reduce the amount of clicks needed to locate a destination. Additionally, locations are now illustrated more prominently with images for ease of viewing, quick selection and accurate navigation.
Along with the major website overhaul is the iOS mobile app update which really makes getting together a breeze. Now users can quickly plan, notify and create Outings directly from a mobile device. The menus are straightforward and enhanced with speed in mind. Young adults in particular are always connected via mobile devices and the barHappy mobile app makes nightlife gathering a simple tap or two process. Check out the mobile app images in the slideshows.
Speed is the theme behind many of the barHappy improvements. The explosion of smartphone use means more people, especially young adults, are using those devices as the primary means of coordinating with friends and connecting across the web. In an effort to deliver instant results to its users, barHappy has developed new features such as Outings, integration with Facebook, mood/atmosphere filtering and wishlists.
Outings
Think of Outings as party planning. Users can now coordinate events like bachelor parties, of age celebrations, girls night out and others by choosing locations and times within barHappy. Best of all, Outings can be shared with friends via Facebook so that everyone gets the same information at the same time.
Outings are barHappy’s version of event invites and allow registered users to invite friends on barHappy to meet up at a specific date, time and location, or number of locations. Outings can be created from barHappy.com or on-the-go using the barHappy iOS app–in realtime. Users can also share Outings publicly to Facebook where friends without barHappy accounts can view the Outing, and join barHappy to create one of their own. -James Fisher Sr.
Filtering
Whether your in a playful mood or just want to relax, barHappy provides a clear way of filtering nightlife spots. barHappy has five different atmosphere filters including relax, listen, play, mingle and watch. While not a groundbreaking feature, it does quickly narrow the results to fit the mood you’re after.
Further predefined filtering is presented after choosing one of the 5 atmosphere filters which makes the process of finding the perfect spot even more streamlined. Looking for UFC fights or NFL games is a lot quicker when the results are already filtered.
Wishlists
Wishlists are saved locations. Discovery of new bars and hangouts can be preserved by saving them to a wishlist in barHappy profiles. Wishlists can also be shared with Facebook friends so that users can experience new places together. By quickly adding an establishment to wishlists, users can avoid the task of remembering the information or carrying around handwritten notes with address, phone number and other information.
barHappy’s Future
We asked Jim about barHappy’s expansion plans and possible integration with payment platforms. Expansion is a year long project with hopes of expanding to other cities based on user input. For now, focus remains on solidifying and growing the existing database of establishments.
We intend to unlock as many cities as possible through social engagement with users. -James Fisher Sr.
We also inquired about payment integration with services such as Dwolla, Google Wallet, Paypal, Square and others. The idea being that instead of carrying around cash and credit cards, users could simply run a tab or prepay for an Outing through barHappy with funds drawn via an associated mobile payment service. As of now, there are no plans in place for such a feature though barHappy reiterates they are continually searching for ways to improve the experience for users.
Check out the changes and new features for yourself. Head on over to barHappy or pick up the iPhone app through itunes.
Visit barHappy
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