Exactly one year ago, we reviewed Liveoo, an app that curates a list of events and fun places to hangout in Lagos. One year later, we want to take a look at the app to see what has changed and what has remained the same. We also look at some things that need to be changed and how they can be changed.
What’s new about Liveoo?
1. Improved mapping and location-tracking
When we reviewed Liveoo last year, the app was making use of what looked like it’s own mapping system. We recommended a change to a native maps like Google Map and the team at Liveoo seemed to take that into cognition. Now, the app’s location tracking and mapping uses Google Maps and it is much improved.
Before, you’d have to pinch and zoom in to get a clear view of where you were and where you were going, but it’s better now. On the new map, you’ll find a pink pin on the location of the event or restaurant and a blue dot that represents where you are at the moment. So once you start moving, the blue dot will move with you and it has a pointer that serves as a compass to guide you.
2. You can now call an Uber from inside the app
Another laudable feature Liveoo has is that it allows you call an Uber from inside the app. Very nice.
Once you tap “Get an Uber”, you are directed to the Uber app where you can continue the process.
What I don’t like about the app
1. Crashes a lot
In under one hour, Liveoo crashed four times, at least. That’s worrying.
2. It’s a bit slow
If you’re the patient type, then maybe this won’t be an issue for you. But patience is not the strong suit of a lot of us, so we will have issues with the app. It takes quite sometime to load whenever you are returning from a selection to the app’s home page. Maybe it’s okay if it happens occasionally. But if it happens all the time, that’s something the developers need to look into.
3. There aren’t enough pictures and descriptions
Pictures and descriptions are the blood to the body of Liveoo. And as it is, Liveoo doesn’t have blood.
When people sign up to services like this, they need adequate information to help them make informed decisions. They will need pictures to know what the places look like and they will need detailed descriptions about how to get to the place and how the environment is.
This leads to the next point.
4. There aren’t enough reviews
It’s impressive how some of Liveoo’s reviews are linked to the Eat Drink Lagos blog. I opine that it’s a smart move. It saves them a lot of time and effort which can be expended on other things. But still, there aren’t enough reviews on the restaurants listed on Liveoo. Although, I reckon this will be worked on over time. Still, it’s a point worth noting.
My recommendations
I like the idea behind Liveoo. Anything that makes the social life of people easier, for me, is a welcome idea. In that vein, here are some recommendations for the team at Liveoo:
1. Switch into full gear to collate data
To be fair, it’s not easy for the Liveoo team to get all the pictures they need. Like someone in the Ofadaa team told me, restaurant and event place owners are not really open to the idea of people coming to take pictures of their restaurants or event centres and posting online. Many of them have security concerns, and rightly so.
If getting pictures proves too much of a challenge for the Liveoo team, then they can focus on providing more detailed descriptions of these places. And they have to go into full force with this; meaning they have to do it quickly and urgently. It will help their cause.
2. Fix the bugs
This doesn’t need too many words. They need to look into the app and find out why it’s crashing so often. they also need to optimize the app’s speed so it can be faster.
3. Improve Social Media Sharing
Liveoo will thrive if it can do more with the social media sharing feature. When I tried to share the link to an event centre on Twitter, it merely gave me the name of the place (which coincidentally turned out to be named ‘The Place’) without providing a link people can click on. They need to look into that.
I also think they should create more Sign in/sign up options. At the moment, it’s either you sign up with Facebook of the traditional Email-password method. They could add Twitter and Google+ to improve the experience.
As time goes on, I think the options in the app will increase, in terms of categories and selections. Right now, it’s obvious the Liveoo team still have a lot of work to do. Let’s hope there will be massive improvements within the next one year and beyond.
Photo Credit: Liveoo
