Vibin 2.0 coming right to you from the GSMA Mobile Asia Expo 2014

If we have been quiet for a while, that’s only because everyone has been busy preparing for the largest mobile event in Asia – Mobile Asia Expo 2014. And a fancy booth and some really cool cards are not the only things we were preparing. On this special occasion we have decided to make our biggest move since the start of the company. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you Vibin 2.0.

This year’s Mobile Asia Expo was held last week in the Shanghai New International Expo Center. The third annual event has attracted more than 24,000 attendees and showcased more than 200 firms, projects and start-ups. “Industry-leading exhibitors will gather to showcase the most innovative technologies and products” (Mobile Asia Expo). We were in the Startup Alley throughout the event, where people could try out our latest release, connect with members of our team, and enjoy some good vibes. 

Vibin 2.0 aims to completely redefine the way that users navigate through the masses of content that appear on their social feeds. Unlike other content aggregators, Vibin will focus on making quality content a catalyst for user interaction. The updated version of the mobile app will boast a number of recently added features, including channel customization, shared collections and even a chat room. 2.0 allows consumers to directly like and share any card on Facebook or send entire decks of cards to Vibin friends. Also, users can already explore our improved card curation system, which organizes content based upon user behavior and displays first the cards matching the user’s interests.

In addition, Vibin 2.0 maximizes the potential of a gesture-based interface for IOS and Android smartphones. Making full use of the all-powerful touchscreen, Vibin has incorporated its intuitive design into an app that combines feeds from several sites into one place. Finding and sharing the media you actually want to see has never been this fun or easy.

The app is coming to app stores near you soon! Stay tuned.

This Week in 3 Photos

Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP

This week some of the most compelling photography unfortunately came from disasters. A great tragedy struck Turkey last week, as a coalmine in Manisa collapsed, becoming the worst industrial accident in the country's history. Funeral services were held accross Turkey, with 284 workers confirmed dead. Turkey's four biggest worker's unions held a one-day protest in anger over the accident. When more than 20 000 workers turned to the streets to protest police forces had to be sent in to intervene. The country is in the state of mourning.

Photograph: Stuart Palley/EPA

Another raging disaster has been going on for some time now in southern California as forest fires consume the state. Due to draught and an immense heatwave, south-western part of the US has been suffering terribly from forest fires. California took the biggest hit, as wild fires are spreading accross the state from Fallbrook to San Diego to, as we see on this picture, San Marcos.

Photograph: Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP

But heat is not neccessarily a bad thing, and the Spanish know how to celebrate it. This week the traditional celebration of Las Mayas took place in Madrid, Spain. The festival has been around since the medieval ages and originates from pagan customs. Las Mayas celebrates the beginning of spring (well, Spanish people are known to be late sometimes...) and is a celebration of flowers, warming climate and the blooming of all nature. A "Maya" girl is selected from 7 to 11 year old girls in the city, to sit still and serious on the altar for two hours. It is a great honor and a great responsibility.

This Week in 3 Photos

Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

The United States have been hit hard by tornadoes in the recent weeks. The tornadoes were unleashed due to a ferocious storm system travelling across US. Arkansas and Mississippi were some of the hardest hit states, with others including Iowa, Oklahoma, Alabama and many more. This photo was taken in Arkansas, a state that has just recently been ravaged by this terrible storm. More than 30 deaths due to tornadoes have been confirmed in the past few weeks, and warnings of new cataclysms are still appearing every day. We encourage all the citizens of US to be vigilant.

Photograph: Ivan Alvarado/Reuters

Tens of thousands of students protested in Chile in the first march demanding education reform since President Michelle Bachelet took power on promises of deep changes. The students marched through the streets of Santiago in a mostly peaceful protest that was marred at the end by hooded vandals who infiltrated the demonstrations, and threw rocks and petrol bombs at police. Police officers used water cannon in an attempt to disperse the violent protesters. (by http://www.euronews.com/)

Photograph: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP

But don't forget that not all struggles are unjust. Struggles are a part of everyday life, and it's up to us to turn them into either a depression or a hurdle to be overcome. In this photo, competitors are locked into a strangulation during a traditional wrestling tournament, part of a holiday marking the circumcisions of young boys in the village of Draginovo, some 180km south-east of Sofia on May 04, 2014. More than 100 boys were circumcised during a traditional ceremony in the small mountain village. Although they are struggling as a part of a competition, but to some of them it means everything - it's their rite of passage. So whenever you find yourself facing troubles - run forward and jump over them like hurdles.

Stay Vibin

www.vibin.it

This Week in 3 Photos

Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters

Unfortunately, the past week started off on a grim note. As many of you know, former coach of FC Barcelona passed away on the 25th of April and last Monday evening the Cathedral of Barcelona was at capacity for the great athlete's and coach's memorial service. The Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona Lluís Martínez Sistach officiated the ceremony, which was attended by Vilanova’s family, members of the Catalan government, former FC Barcelona presidents and players, and the first team, among many others. (by fcbarcelona.com)

Photograph: David Levene/Guardian

A great standoff broke out between the London Underground and the RMT union over plans to close down ticket offices, which would cut Londoners' spending by 50 million pounds a year, but also cut the Tube's employees number by 960. The first 48-hour walkout started on Monday, but after talks between the arguing parties broke down, the RMT union is planning another 72-hour strike starting 5th of May. London Underground were baffled by the strikes, explaining that "Our plans will see more staff available in the public areas of stations - at ticket machines, gate lines and platforms - meaning that face to face customer service and the ability to help people will be enhanced not reduced". Whereas RMT acting general secretary Mr. Cash said negotiators for the union had worked "flat out" to try and reach an agreement, adding that he was "angry and bitterly disappointed" by the breakdown. (by bbc.com) But people crossing London Bridge on foot only prove that, despite the strikes, life goes on.

Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters

That's the beautiful thing about life. Whether you believe in "black and white stripes" or a "checkerboard" or anything else, the rule remains the same - bad times come and go, good times come and go, and life goes on. So remember: whatever may be troubling you - shall pass, whatever ails you - will heal and as one wise man once said - "the sun is that much warmer after rain."

Stay Vibin

Easter Week 2014 in 3 Photos

Picture: Tony Gentile/Reuters

"Francis stressed that Easter is 'the basis of our faith and hope.' If Christ were not raised, he said, Christianity would lose its very meaning. The whole mission of the church, added Francis, would lose its impulse. <...> He appealed to the lord to help overcome the scourge of hunger, aggravated by conflicts and by immense wastefulness for which, he added, we are often responsible. <...> He also appealed for African victims of the Ebola virus, for kidnapping victims, and for migrants seeking a better life and religious freedom. <...> He called for an end to violence in Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Sudan and urged negotiations and reconciliation in Venezuela and Ukraine, and between Israelis and Palestinians." by Sylvia Poggiolli, NPR.

Picture: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

There are parades all over the world to celebrate and remember Good Friday. In Spain and some other countries, people who are very sorry for their wrong doings (called 'Penitents') walk through the streets wearing long robes with hoods and carrying a big cross of wood. Some cultures have a procession of statues of saints before church services and others display models of tombs as the center piece to remind of Jesus' death. (from whyeaster.com) But in general, Good Friday represents the spirit of the Easter Holiday, as during this day most of the countries in the world let the workforce rest. Being in the middle of spring, Good Friday is the perfect day to go on a picnic, make a family trip, go to open-air events or, or... go horseback riding.

Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/REX

We are past the middle of spring, which means we are that much closer to summer, woo-hoo! And although for some of you this might mean the approach of exams or other deadlines, don't forget that it also means the imminence of accomplishments. Sure some of them come harder than others, but that only makes the rewards that much sweeter. So as the temperatures escalate, let us also escalate our personal lives by living them to our full potential and accomplishing our goals!

Stay Vibin

Our New Website Has Hatched!

Our web designers and developers have been working hard for the past few weeks to bring you our new and improved website! Check it out at www.vibin.it and let us know what you think!

Old Website                                    VS.                                 New Website

You will see that we added more flow to the design by showing a small demo of Vibin as you scroll down the homepage. We kept the design of the landing view very minimalistic and clean, so the only thing you will see when you enter the website is the Vibin logo and motto, as well as the links to the iOS App Store and Android's Google Play Store. As you go lower you will see a nice and smooth motion of the Android OS default camera taking a picture of a panoramic view of our beloved San Francisco, California.

And this is only the beginning! If you scroll further down you will get a preview of how the main elements of Vibin mobile app - the decks and cards - actually look. Visitors will get a chance to browse through some of the content previously created by users in the application directly on our homepage, to give them a feel of how much convenience the app brings to capturing absolutely anything you want in your permanent Vibin collection.

And we are very eggs-ited to say that that's not all! After launching our new Vibin.it website, we saw that we had misplaced a few Easter eggs on the site. And apparently each egg contains a part of some clue... or maybe a word to make a certain phrase? There are 6 Easter eggs hidden in our new website - each of them will give you a word, you will have to put the 6 words into a phrase that helps define the aims of Vibin mobile app. The first person to post the correct phrase on our Facebook page will get a special Vibin Easter prize!
Happy holidays everyone! We hope to see many Vibin cards with your Easter pictures this week!

Vibin and Vodafone

Vibin and Vodafone at the MWC 2014

A few months back Vibin attended the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Spain. Maybe you have seen us, perhaps we even talked a little. If that's the case, you remember that we were in a sector with the red and black decor - the Vodafone zone. Or should I say "xone". Vodafone xone™ is based in Silicon Valley with the express purpose of connecting hot new start-up's with their various global business units. After a few months of Skype talks and corporate meetings it is official - Vibin is now partnered with one of the largest global mobile operators.

Vodafone went from making the first mobile call in the UK in 1985, to a small mobile operator in Newbury, to being a communications giant with more than 400 million users in around 30 countries with partner networks in over 50 countries. All that happened in 30 years! Vodafone has been one of the pioneers of some mobile features that we now use every day - in 1991 they enabled the first ever international mobile call; in 2002 they introduced Vodafone Live!, which was a new way to use mobile internet on the move, and changed the way people perceived mobile communications. Since the mobile internet became accessible to the public, Vodafone understood that mobile communications aren't about texting and calling any more. Their network allows people to exchange images and videos immediately, as well as providing corporations of methods of quick internal communication, planning and file sharing. In addition to that, Vodafone has recently released Vodafone Money Transfer, a tool that allows people from developing countries to send and receive money quickly and securely. Needless to say, Vodafone has become more than a simple mobile service provider, and that is why consumers turn to it when they seek value.

As for the cooperation between Vodafone and Vibin, we don't want to give away too much just yet. But we can promise that you will be seeing much more of everything - news, cards, users and - of course - tons of new features. Since we just recently entered the partnership, everyone at the office is working super intensively. We are rolling out new features and improvements on a weekly basis and testing them from A to Z.

The entire team is as focused as ever. All engines are running 110% and the cooperation has only just started! Get ready, ladies and gentlemen! Big changes are just around the corner.

www.vibin.it

Welcome to our Vibin™ Blog!

Collect What Matters

Hi there, and welcome to our app's official blog!

This is going to be a journey through all the exciting things about Vibin - from our milestones and features to user interviews and some general tomfoolery. We hope that you will remain by our side for this voyage, as we go from a living room start-up to... well, we will see!

So, you are probably wondering - why "Vibin"? Well, according to Urban Dictionary, "to vibe" means to really feel something, to really connect with something. In fact, the word "vibe" is often connected to music, and how if you like a song to a point where it gives you emotional euphoria - you are "vibing" it. And that is what we want Vibin to resemble. So, if you know something that you really like, enjoy and connect with, you are already on your way to Vibin!


The app is supposed to serve as a virtual collection for your most favorite things. Things, which you can't pass by without saving them somehow or sharing them. And that's where Vibin comes in. Hopefully (with your help) we will make an app that makes collecting these precious things, places and moments super easy and fun. Using the metaphor of collectible cards, Vibin makes saving things that matter and later rediscovering them a piece of cake: simply take a picture, add a personal touch by providing personal remarks, location or other stuff and you're done - this memory is forever in your collection. Of course, the only thing more fun than discovering cool things, is sharing them with cool people! Vibin makes it easy for users to share their cards with other people, whether they are Vibin users or not. In addition to that, Vibin provides feeds of cards on different topics, so you will always have new content to browse through.

This is the app now. But Vibin is not just the app - we are a team of 12 enthusiastic, innovative and hungry entrepreneurs. We are a company, where every person is valuable and every breakthrough is celebrated. We are a start-up with exciting stuff happening every day. We are planning a future for collecting and sharing apps as we know them.

We Are Vibin.