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Tired Of Pals Bailing On You? Recruit A Friend With This New App

By Patty Wetli | July 18, 2016 8:37am | Updated on July 19, 2016 8:46am
 Her busy friends prompted a Lincoln Square resident to create the Stand-In app, due this fall.
Her busy friends prompted a Lincoln Square resident to create the Stand-In app, due this fall.
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LINCOLN SQUARE — Stood up by friends one too many times, Kimberly Jackson didn't get angry — she created an app.

The app, called Stand-in, is set to release this fall after a successful Kickstarter campaign, with the promise: "When your friends can't join you, get a stand-in."

"I guess in some ways, I have to thank my friends. They're very busy, they travel for work," said Jackson, 34, who lives in Lincoln Square and works in insurance.

Too often, Jackson said, she'd "be excited to do something or I'd get free tickets and there'd be no one to go with or the person would cancel last minute."

Not everyone feels comfortable attending events alone, and there's no guarantee of running into another singleton, she said.

"More than likely, if you go alone you'll be alone," said Jackson. "And even if they did see someone else solo, how comfortable are people approaching strangers?"

Using Stand-in, people can connect and break the ice in advance of hanging out together and can attend an event with the knowledge that "I already have my companion when I walk in the door," she said.

Here's how it works: Users log into Stand-in and add an event to the Request Feed — anything from "Who wants to go to Pitchfork?" to "Who wants to volunteer at the food pantry?" — with the date, time and other relevant details.

Interested users offer to stand in, and the person who placed the request responds.

Potential stand-ins "can't message you first," Jackson clarified. "You initiate the conversation with the people you choose."

Both sides confirm and voila, instant BFFs — or minimally instant acquaintances.

Jackson is quick to point out that Stand-in is not a dating app.

"We have our choices of dating sites," she said, but for someone like herself, who has a boyfriend but is just looking for someone to go to a concert, "My only option is guys who want to hit on me."

What's missing is an easy way for business travelers or people who move to a new state to meet a person with like interests, she said.

Fifteen years ago, Stand-in wouldn't have worked, Jackson said.

Now "we're so used to jumping into a stranger's car" via Uber or Lyft, or staying in a stranger's home via Airbnb, she said.

"We're used to feeling people out online," she said.

In the spirit of security, Stand-in users need a Facebook account in order to access the app. A person's profile is only available to view when they have a live request, and the app is not GPS enabled, so a person's location is not divulged, according to Jackson.

An iOS version of the app will be available this fall, and Jackson said she'll use excess Kickstarter funds to speed the rollout of an Android version.

The basic app will be free, though some features will cost money.

If an event is time sensitive — for example, "I have a spare ticket to 'Hamilton' tonight" — the requester can pay to have the opportunity placed at the top of the feed. Conversely, if a user really, really wants to be chosen as a stand in, they can pay to have their profile jump to the front of the line.

"When people are faced with going somewhere alone where they imagine everyone else will be with someone, they more often than not give up and just stay home," Jackson said. "Stand-in will change that."

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