If there is one thing that any collegiette knows it is that a best friend is indispensable and invaluable. She is your rock—the irreplaceable tool that gets you through all of life’s amazing victories and occasional adversities. This week, Her Campus McGill caught up with McGill’s most dynamic duo—best friends Ashley Amir and Sydney Wiseman. With respective backgrounds in psychology and management, not only are these girls the ying to each other’s yang, but they are also taking the world by storm (together, of course). Each have multiple projects in the works, but their most prized accomplishment is a project that they have collaborated on—the launch of a new and innovative iPhone app called Echoer. I sat down with these brainy Campus Cuties to hear more about it.
We know that you have both been dedicated and committed to the creation, design, and promotion of Echoer. Can you explain what exactly Echoer is and how it can be used?
Echoer is an interactive app designed for iPhone users. The idea for Echoer started when one of our bosses was on a plane receiving less than acceptable service from a stewardess. Angered and bothered by the situation, he wanted to (discreetely) let other passengers on the plane to know he felt and have them respond with their input. If an Echoer user were in a restaurant, for example, and wanted to suggest an exceptional dish to other guests in that restaurant, he/she could do so using Echoer. Users can Echo a thought and have others see and respond to these thoughts in real time. In essence, the goal is to create a forum or virtual space where people can have pertinent and relevant conversations about the plethora of things occurring around them.
Now that we know more about Echoer, tell us about where the app has gone and where you see it going in the near future. Do you see it being useful for fellow collegiettes?
With a lot of devotion and commitment (and a lot of early mornings and late nights at the office!), we’ve been able to build some amazing partnerships. The word is definitely getting out there and the response has been overwhelmingly positive! Incredible institutions such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Center for Social Innovation in Toronto are looking to use Echoer. We’ve also built collaborative efforts with many high schools in the city, which are really eager to integrate Echoer into their technology programs. Eventually collegiettes would be able to use Echoer to engage in conversations about anything from the latest club opening to a professor’s lecture. We know that young people are out and about all the time and want to communicate their thoughts and observations to others. Echoer gives them the proper channel to do this.
We’ve all heard the old adage advising us not to mix business and pleasure. What was it like working together on this project? Any major disagreements we should know about?
The fact that we are such close friends actually made working together so much easier. We really know each other’s strengths, qualities, and the things that we each need to improve on! In that way, we were able to get things done more quickly, efficiently, and we were able to come up with ideas that complimented each other well. As you can imagine, working with your best friend definitely makes for a much more relaxed and comfortable atmosphere than most people get to work in. It’s definitely been an amazing experience so far!
Any final words of advice for other collegiettes looking to find their niche or start their own careers?
Absolutely and unquestionably, do what you are passionate about. When you love what you are doing and you feel like a project is yours, which is how we feel about this project, you find yourself wanting to put in long hours. The dedication and hard work certainly come a lot more naturally!
To learn more about Echoer’s Ambassador Program, please visit their website.