New Mobile App Makes Finding Platonic Friends Easier Than Ever Before

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New Mobile App Makes Finding Platonic Friends Easier Than Ever Before - Published on 10/15/15

New to iOS and Android, from the makers of the original community website patook.com, comes Patook, the free-to-play social app that helps people find friends and brings communities closer together. The basic premise of Patook is simple and its functionality twofold; the developers have designed it to bring people and communities together by 'matching' like-minded individuals, and providing a forum for discussions in their local area.

Kirkland, Washington - New to iOS and Android, from the makers of the original community website, comes Patook, the free-to-play social app that helps people find friends and brings communities closer together.

The basic premise of Patook is simple and its functionality twofold; the developers have designed it to bring people and communities together by 'matching' like-minded individuals, and providing a forum for discussions in their local area.

The ideal app for those who have just moved to a new neighborhood or country; started university; busy professionals and parents; or who are just shy about approaching people face-to-face. Patook takes the struggle out of socializing by using powerful matching algorithms to instantly find people in a user's locality that they might get on with, and providing a quick and easy way to connect with them. From making new friends to hang out with, finding a group to pursue shared interests together, or just chatting to similar souls online, Patook's expert matchmaking brings people together and helps them connect. Note: this is not a dating service, but, of course, who knows where new connections will lead!

Alternatively, for those who want to connect en masse, Patook introduces the new concept of 'beacons'. Beacons allow users to participate in conversations happening in their local community; real-time, any time.

Getting started is easy. Simply enter a username, age, and location on the welcome screen (real names do not have to be used), then create a password. Join as an individual or couple, as desired. Profiles can be set up from scratch, but the option to sign up using a Facebook account is also seamlessly incorporated, expediting the process of uploading photos and data. Patook never posts anything to Facebook, so users can be sure that friends and family won't be spammed with requests for candy or help on the farm! It is also pleasingly free from pesky ads and in-app purchases. Patook can use the device location to suggest more specific connects in that area, but otherwise the app assumes the user is in the center of their sign-up city.

Once logged in, start exploring the neighborhood!

Patook's homepage presents an initial list of interesting people nearby, displaying key data and a brief introductory excerpt from their profile. This list can be sorted by age, gender, distance, or new users, or further refined by setting up rules to filter the results based on a user-created points system. For instance, if the desired match is a short, Italian man who enjoys waterskiing, use the points system to create rules allocating 10 points for being male, 5 points for height between 4'5� and 5', 10 points for speaking Italian, and 15 points for an interest in waterskiing. Any person who meets these criteria appears on the homepage with 40 points. This is a really handy feature that greatly speeds up the selection process. Users make the rules and decide on their parameters, and the points system is completely private, so no-one's feelings will be hurt. Message users through Patook's secure messaging system. Email notifications can also be activated, if desired. Patook will
never deluge inboxes, and email addresses are not public.

A charming feature of Patook is the mutual matches system. Users may give each other a star rating and those people rated are shown in the 'Rated' tab. The 'Mutual' tab then combines these with people who have also rated that user, indicating a high likelihood of compatibility. Patook even uses these ratings to predict how people will rate others, and suggest ever-more-accurate matches.

The other main feature of Patook is the Beacon system. Beacons are discussion groups set up around millions of beacon points worldwide and may be as small as a coffee shop, or as vast as a city, covering locations such as universities, malls, airports... almost anywhere! Beacons allow people to participate in conversations in their local area, or start their own beacon and encourage others to talk about the issues that matter to them; whether that's town politics or the flavors on offer at the local ice-cream parlor. Chances are there are other people out there who are thinking about the same thing and want to share their thoughts. Posts are visible to all users within a certain radius of the beacon and anyone within range can join the conversation. Whether lunar moth or social butterfly, everyone drawn to the light of the beacon can find beings on their wavelength. Beacons give individuals the opportunity to be a voice in their community.

Once up and running on Patook, users can increase their visibility and search rankings by improving their profiles. The 'Visitors' menu shows how many people are accessing that profile and how they interact with it, providing feedback on how to tailor profiles to stand out from the crowd. Earn profile badges and increase rankings by getting involved with the community and connecting with others.

Patook is safe and secure - users control who sees their information and how much. For example, there are options to show profiles only to men, women, or couples, or only people who score enough points on the ratings criteria. This thoughtful app also ensures built-in anti-harrassment, by providing the option of one-shot-contact; if the first message sent is not responded to, the sender cannot message that user again. Patook takes privacy very seriously and acts swiftly on any reports of misuse.

Part of the beauty of this social app is that a network of friends is not required to get started - Patook matches potential friends and provides a forum for group discussions. The only 'rules' are to be polite and treat others with respect. Who could argue with that?

The touch interface is intuitive and elegantly simple, with well-thought-out, clutter-free menus, and easy-to-understand icons and styling. Patook provides pick-up-and-play accessibility suitable for everybody.

For those who want to find friends, love, or hobby groups; learn from someone with different interests and backgrounds, or share their skills and experience with others; to have a say on local issues, or just find someone to chat to on the bus, Patook puts the whole world in the palm of your hand!

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
* Requires iOS 7.0 or later
* Universal Application
* 51.4 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Patook 1.0.6 is free, and is available worldwide through the App Store. An Android version of the app is available through Google Play.

Patook 1.0.6: https://patook.com
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/app/patook/id1006421424
Download from Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.patook.patook&hl=en
Press Kit: https://patook.com/Home/Press


Patook LLC is a company based in the greater Seattle area. We've been working hard on the site for a couple of years now and just launched the app for our users. We want to build a safe and reliable way for people to make awesome new friends. We believe that there are people who would be great friends to each other but who will probably never meet: students who are cooped up studying all day or who can't find people who share their interests in their departments; new moms who barely have time to go out, let alone seek out new friends; couples who have moved to a new country and who don't know anybody there; people who have moved for work; and just normal people who have not made new long-lasting friends since high school or college, or who don't have any great friends. Copyright (C) 2015 Patook LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.


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