Botl: The Message in a Bottle Social Network

Botl is a content-sharing social network with a “message in a bottle” theme and location-based metrics.

• We’re a social network. Within the Botl community, we use the follower/following platform for content distribution.  For user interaction between Botl and other social networks, we support crosspromotion and easy sharing of content from other networks onto Botl and vice-versa.
• We support rich content. Users create and share digital bottled messages (“botls”) containing  images, animated GIFs, audio, video and text.  Images can be combined with sound effects or music to quickly and easily create audiovisual messages. Our text editor supports stylized messages with hyperlinks.
• We package content in bottles. To make a botl, users place the content they want to share into one of our 48 bottles or into their custom/branded bottle.   
• We track travel history. Inside an open botl, we display when, where and by whom it was opened, and how many miles it traveled between views and in total. In each user’s profile, an odometer displays the cumulative mileage of that user’s botls.

The Botl Team: Don Puryear & Angel Valdez

One evening when Don and Angel were discussing posts on their content-sharing social networks, they realized a fascinating metric was being ignored: distance traveled!

Don Puryear & Angel Valdez

Angel asked, “Wouldn’t it be great to know where your posts actually end up, how far they travel?”

Don responded, “Yeah, like a modern-day message in a bottle!”

They decided that the world’s first social network was due for a modern spin, and Don, who wrote phonetic code for over 10 years, suggested the obvious name for it: Botl.

Don and Angel are developing Botl through their company Appsolute Madness, Inc.