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Ask HN: "Tattlr": The End of the Annoying Moviegoer?
I had an awful experience at the movies this past weekend. Read about the full story and startup idea that came from it here: http://bit.ly/mxB7eD
On to my idea: What if there was a way to alert theater staff of disturbances without leaving your seat and missing the movie? You can’t make a phone call to the theater because that would further add to the disturbance of your neighbors. (It also may result in some retaliatory action by the culprits.) You can’t send a text message because I don’t know of any theater that has a number you can text that will instantly connect to their staff. In addition, trying to type out a text message in the middle of your movie takes time and the unending glow from your phone may disturb your neighbors. You’ll also miss the movie in the process. Whatever the solution is, it would have to be a simple i.e. 3-step process that lets staff know something is amiss in your auditorium.
This is what I came up with: a geolocation check-in app, similar to Foursquare, that automagically pulls down the information of the movie theater you’re attending, along with the seating chart for the actual auditorium you’ll be sitting in. Your only input would be entering the row # and seat # upon entering the auditorium. (This works even better for Arclight or AMC where you can choose your seats in advance upon payment.) Here’s how I envision it working:
Let’s say the people behind you are getting rowdy:
Step 1: Press the app icon on your smartphone to open the app.
Step 2: Select your issue from a short list of possible issues. Stuff like “Sound is off”, “Projector malfunction”, “Idiots on cell phone”.
Step 3 (Optional): A seating chart pops up in which you can select the actual seats where the disturbance is coming from, relative to your current position.
That’s it. The movie theater would receive this info on their end, possibly a complementary web app that they have running in the background at the concierge desk, and dispatch a staff member to check it out. This works for 5 key reasons:
1- You don’t miss any of the movie.
2- You’re not disturbing your neighbors with a phone call to the theater, or long text message with the glowing light from your phone, or getting up in the middle of the movie.
3- You wouldn’t have to waste time describing your current location, its already stored in the app thanks to your phone’s GPS and your seat input.
4- It’s not a social app so you wouldn’t have to worry about random people knowing your EXACT location. Only the theater would have access to your location.
5- You don’t risk getting confronted, shot or stabbed in retaliation. These inconsiderate degenerates will have no idea who was responsible for alerting staff.
I’ve affectionately titled this app: Tattlr (pronounced tatt-ler). I’ve conducted a fairly exhaustive search and haven’t been able to find anything like Tattlr. I’d love to get your input on this. Let me know if something like Tattlr exists already or, better yet, what the inherent drawbacks are. I can’t think of too many. Check that: I can’t think of any.
Feel free to reach out to me in the comment section of my blog (http://thegeoffreyhull.com) if you’re interested on working on Tattlr with me. Obviously we’ll need an app developer, but a biz dev person can be useful also. I’ll be busy with DinnerPlayer (http://dinnerplayer.com) so I have no problem playing a mere cursory role in Tattlr’s development. Hit me. -G
- true_religion 15y agoJust opening your cellphone with its hideously bright screen will make you an "annoying moviegoer" to many people around you.
- GeoffreyHull 15y agoInteresting point. Especially given the current "bigger is better" trend for smartphone screens these days. That's why it'd be important for Tattlr to offer a short process to report the disturbance. Look at it this way: If I pull out my phone to use Tattlr to report a person chatting it up on his phone behind me during a movie, I'm simply piggybacking on the existing disturbance as opposed to creating my own disturbance. Who's going to notice me using Tattlr when the guy behind me is being a far greater nuisance? Everyone's attention will be on the jackass talking on the phone, not the jackass tapping the screen on his smartphone. OR If a shouting match breaks out in the back of the auditorium. Will people be more worried about getting nachos and soda thrown on them or the guy 2 rows up illuminating the place with his smartphone?
- ohashi 15y agoNow there is two jackasses causing a disturbance in my movie. Some guy being noisy and another with a bright light from a phone. Sorry, I think your whole premise is flawed.
- GeoffreyHull 15y agoI would assume most people would view the bright light as far less abrasive than the guy being noisy talking on his telephone in the middle of a movie. Besides, 3 quick button presses ensures that most people will hardly notice the brief illumination in the theater you'd create with Tattlr.
- ohashi 15y agoI like how you assume all these concerns away when this is the top comment and repeated multiple times. Light is visible from basically an entire dark theater. Sound, on the other hand can vary from a slightly loud neighbor to a loud guy the whole theater can hear. So, you, my loud neighbor may be disturbing me and maybe 8 others in your immediate surroundings, but I, with my cell phone distract everyone behind me, all 100 of them. You want feedback, don't just tell me I am wrong, listen to your audience. I don't want cell phones being turned on while I watch a movie for any reason.