University alumni Patrick Rabban and Chris Asmar came up the idea for their app during their senior year in college. They sought a way to organize quotes and inside jokes from friends, and thus, “Echollection” was born.
Echollection is a social media app that allows users to store, organize and customize quotes. Users can attach pictures and locations to their quotes, all of which are stored on their personal profiles. In addition to organizing, users can also “like,” share and comment on other posts.
Although Echollection is categorized as a “social networking” app in the Apple Store, Rabban discussed how the app functions more as a resource or tool.
“Nearly every person I know keeps a word document or journal where they log all of their favorite quotes, whether it’s from a favorite author or a family member,” Rabban said. “The feature that sets us apart is (that) you can create folders, categories, subcategories for your “echoes,” and you can even attach location and images.”
Despite the app’s inception in 2011, development on Echollection began in 2015. According to Raban, the co-founders have been busy promoting the app on social media outlets, planning launch parties and networking while maintaining full-timejobs.
The app is still new to the industry, however. Beta tester Salem Najjar mentioned Echollection sets itself apart by providing an organized approach to remembering special moments.
“I thought the functionality was very good and I felt that it had fulfilled a need in the market, kind of white space in the industry,” Najjar said. “There should be a way to track and remember those quotes and memories in the future because they had an impact on us the moment we first heard them.”
Sandra Kizy, another beta tester, believes the app is great for use on social media posts centered around family or friends.
“You hear quotes all the time, and we all have our phones so it’s so easy to put it in,” Kizy said. “This is the only app of its type that I’ve seen, so that’s what makes it unique, because it’s the only app that I know of that stores quotes.”
According to Rabban, one of the most important steps in developing an app is forming a team of reliable business partners. Rabban suggested students looking to create their own apps should be cautious about whom they choose to work with. Students also should focus on the simplest form of their idea before introducing the app to the market, he added.
Business sophomore Lucian Ramnarase said he thinks the concept behind Echollection is interesting because people use quotes on other social media platforms.
“If people want to see these quotes to pick themselves up and make them smile, they can go to this app,” Ramnarase said. “You know what you’re going to get with this app, and that’s a reason why I’d use it and why I think other people would use it.”
Currently Rabban and Asmar are still working to promote Echollection in multiple forms.
“It’s one thing to capture that moment and phrase in context with photo and location, it’s another thing looking back years down the road we have created since college that have gone ahead and saved in there,” Rabban said. “Almost unanimously the response has been this is a great idea and I can’t believe nobody has done this before.”