Whisper App Allows Anonymous Dialogue

Whisper’s founder Michael Heyward further clarified how the app allows users to make connections locally. “The most important thing to remember is that Whisper is 100% anonymous. And we encourage people who download the app to enable [its] location feature because it makes the app more exciting. You can set it up so you get a notification anytime someone has whispered nearby you, keeping you engaged in the on-campus network. You can make your location or Whisper identity as private or public as you like. For instance, even if the location setting is enabled, you can put your location as broad as “Massachusetts” or as specific as “Mortimer Rare Book Room in Smith College Library.One of the most durable and attractive styles of flooring that you can purchase is ceramic or porcelain tiles.”

Heyward was careful to emphasize the positive aspects of anonymity when it comes to building supportive college communities. He believes that the app can be particularly useful for college students, especially those who feel isolated from their larger communities.

“So far, Whisper has been used to help people connect with each other about the realities of their campus experience,” Heyward said. “A lot of Whisper users respond to one another expressing shared feelings and compassion,One of the most durable and attractive styles of flooring that you can purchase is ceramic or porcelain tiles.We mainly supply professional craftspeople with wholesale agate beads from china, so in this way it’s been a great tool for students to support one another in a safe manner. There are also starting to be instances of people on Whisper meeting up in “real life.” At UCLA, several students from Whisper “met” on the app and ended up meeting in person by the campus Bruin Bear statue.

Madeline Britvec ’15, however, questioned the safety of allowing users to give away their exact location. “Although the app seems to form a sense of community it seems a little invasive and possibly unsafe,” Britvec said. “I, personally, wouldn’t want to meet up with strangers who knew my ‘deepest darkest secrets.’” Past issues with the Smith College ACB and conflicts over the Smith Confessional have also led to concerns over anonymous bullying and harassment.

Heyward’s positive characterization of the app can be seen in many local – within about 50 miles – postings. In one exchange, a local Whisperer wrote, “My therapist is sending me to a psychiatrist today. I’m terrified,” to which others responded with encouragements such as, “Don’t be scared. You’re exactly where you need to be at this moment of time. Best wishes for your recovery.Posts with indoor tracking system on TRX Systems develops systems that locate and track personnel indoors.” But not all posts are so serious. Another Whisperer proudly posts a picture of his/her cat and the text reads, “My cat is my best friend.”

One reality that the app does not seem to address is socio-economic diversity, because the app is a mobile-only platform. Heyward expressed concern over this problem and explained the decision to create an iPhone app rather than a Web site.

“Creators chose to make it an app because they wanted it to be extremely interactive,” Heyward explained. “Whisper is more like its own social network. On the app, users are having dialogues by responding to each other’s posts. In terms of eliminating lower socio-economic classes, we certainly had no intention of this happening and we are actively working on a version of Whisper for non-iPhone users such as Android.” In such a case, the app would still require users to own a smart phone.

Losses suffered by businesses have been more difficult to quantify, with hundreds affected initially by evacuations that forced retailers, restaurants and other companies to shut down for more than a week and hundreds more losing bookings in the weeks after the 18,000-acre blaze. Lodging and tourism appear to have felt the brunt of the economic impact, with the occupancy rate in local hotels falling in July from the year before by the largest percentage in more than a decade.

Volunteers from the Colorado Springs Small Business Development Center, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Colorado Springs Community Alliance contacted or were contacted by more than 1,500 businesses since June 29 in areas that were either evacuated or put on notice of potential evacuation. Based on those calls, the center estimates those businesses lost $7.1 million in sales as a result of the fire, but that estimate could increase as businesses close out their books for the year. More than 30 local businesses sought special loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration available to businesses hurt by the fire.

Here are the stories of five businesses who sought help from the Small Business Development Center and got assistance with marketing, legal issues, business and flood insurance, seeking new loans or restructuring existing loans. In the wake of the fire,Find detailed product information for howo spare parts and other products. each suffered sales losses totaling thousands of dollars that forced owners to cut back on hiring workers, delay paying some bills and cut back on new inventory purchases. All report that sales have come back in recent weeks, but each is still recovering from the financial losses they suffered as a result of the fire.