LaunchPadPro

LaunchPadPro is an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to create notes, take pictures and videos, and share them publicly within the app. A distinctive feature is that the service exclusively focuses on entertainment based media and allows the user to filter content into eight genres; Music, Sports, Writing, Comedy, Art, Acting, Dance, and Fashion, along with several corresponding sub categories. LaunchPadPro unlike similar applications, uses the terms “note and recommend” as a way to allow users to “save and share” to adequately reward high performing users within the service with recognition and prizes. The maximum duration for a LaunchPadPro video is 60 minute.
LaunchPadPro was created by Ike Amadi and Matt Carvalho, and launched in May 2016 as a free mobile app. It is distributed through the Apple App Store. Support for the app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch handset.
History
LaunchPadPro started as an idea between Amadi and Carvalho as they attended Georgia Southern University in 2010. Urged by the lack of direction in school and the prospect of creating a tool that would allow individuals to chase their dreams instead of a diploma, they headed back to Atlanta with $150 between them and began work on the formative stages of what would become their product.
Inspired by American Idol, the idea for the app came about when Amadi wondered, “What if American Idol didn’t have seasons, was all online and included more than just music?” Where platforms like Facebook and Instagram had become too saturated to accomplish such a goal, the market offered a space for a platform dedicated to highlighting entertainers with specific talents and work ethic. The name “LaunchPad” best fit the objective of elevating performers to a level where their abilities were not overshadowed by the noise of social media.
Originally designed as a website, the two realized that to suit a changing market, it was in their best interest to redesign the program as an application. With the goal in mind of achieving the highest level of usability, it was also decided to broaden the genres to eight (Sports, Music, Art, Writing, Comedy, Acting, Dance, Fashion) and begin working on a strategy to strengthen the brand in time for release.
Amadi and Carvalho moved operations to the Atlanta Tech Village in mid-2015 and continued development of the product, closing in on the final stages before release. Strategic partnerships also began to form as influencers from each genre were approached to be brand ambassadors going forward.
In April 2016, LaunchPadPro was submitted and approved by to the Apple Store and made available as a free for download. The first update a week after release involved slight ascetic improvements and the addition of a fitness genre.
Features and tools
Users can upload images and full-length videos, follow other user’s feeds and filter their results by genre. Every week, LaunchPadPro compiles a list of its Best in Show, highlighting members that are the most active and shared on the platform.
Upon signing up, users are given the option of becoming either Audience members who can share and react to posts, or Content creators who can do those things as well as contribute to their genre of choice. Creators are given the option to select the genre, subgenre and niche to sort the content they post out within the platform.
Instead of the common use of like, follow and share to denote user activity on most social media applications, LaunchPadPro opted to use the terminologies, launch, note and recommend respectively. The change of terms is intended to highlight the idea of useful social media interactions. With a Sort button, the user can organize his news feed by interactions and find out who is the most launched, noted and recommended user.
Commenting on individual posts and direct message to specific users across all genres is available.
Filter
This feature allows users to curate content using a drop down menu to select one or more of the eight featured genres (Sports, Music, Art, Writing, Comedy, Acting, Dance, Fashion) to narrow your feed. Each genre contains subgenres and niche categories which allow the user to further specify their search.
Video
Initially allowing for users to post up 30-second videos, this time frame was expanded to 60 min to allow content creators to publish their full works and not just samples. With the nature of the platform being for entertainment, it was only logical to allow artists to not be held back by a time restraint.

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