A new social network for pub-goers seems to be a bit unnecessary.
As social networks become ever more cumbersome, controlled and restrictive, so the market for more niche networks that – in theory – offer more focused communication seems bound to expand. Admittedly, Facebook has its groups – but even they can become sprawling messes if not carefully administrated. More specialist groups seem to be the future, even if that throws up concerns about people living even more in narrow social bubbles.
Anyway, the latest of these niche apps to emerge is Boozr, which describes itself as “a social network for people who’d rather do their socialising in real life”. Gearing itself up for the reopening of British pubs – something that still might be wishful thinking – this directory of 700,000 pubs allows pubs to communicate with customers, and drinkers to organise nights out.
According to the press release, Boozr “provides both locals and visitors an easy way to discover events in their area, and where their friends are going out. It enables quizzers to organise their team; sports fans to watch the match together and mates to meet for a casual drink.”
Now, call me a cynic, but I can’t help but feel that this is a solution desperately in search of a problem. In the normal course of things, people seem quite capable of arranging nights out with mates as it is, without the possible complication of trying to arrange things on an app that said mates may or may not be constantly checking. Phone calls, text messages, emails, WhatsApp… these things seem to have worked pretty well for years as far as I can tell. Of course, the app might be handy for guiding visitors to pubs in strange towns, though I’ve generally found that part of the joy of exploring a new place is to wander around in search of a pub. Unless Boozr has a way to let people know that pubs are rough as a badger’s arse or the sort that go ominously silent when a non-local walks in – which seems unlikely – then I can’t really see its usefulness for tourists either, unless you are the sort of person who visits a new town and then sits glued to your screen throughout.
But where the app does seem potentially useful is in keeping people in touch with events taking place at pubs – if you can flick through locals to see if anything interesting is happening at the weekend, or indeed to be forewarned that some earnest bloke with an acoustic guitar will be warbling his way through a collection of Coldplay and Robbie Williams atrocities during your planned visit, then it probably serves its purpose. And we should never underestimate the trainspotting mentality of many beer enthusiasts – if Boozr allows people to tick off both pubs and beers, then it is sure to be a winner with CAMRA members and fellow travellers.
Should you wish to explore more, you can find the app at:
iOS App Store: https://apps.apple.com/
Android Google Play: https://play.google.com/
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