User:Jelinas/Chirp (mobile application)

Chirp (mobile application) is a free mobile application that combines features such as social networking, mobile messaging, photo sharing, video sharing, and voice messaging. The app is set to launch on January 15, 2014.

History
Chirp was founded in 2012 by Long Beach entrepreneurs Ali Reza Kohani and Scott Mehler. Kohani and Mehler are both founding board members of Long Beach Tech, an organization promoting technology in the city of Long Beach. Kohani was at one point the Executive Director of the organization, and Mehler is currently serving on the Board of Directors. It was through their mutual involvement with Long Beach Tech that Kohani had the opportunity to show Mehler a prototype of the Chirp Communicator application.

Kohani, a developer and entrepreneur, had previously created an app called Geofitti that was designed to help city workers to more efficiently communicate with one another and with home base by enabling them to send text, photos, and videos to other users. Then, Kohani realized that, while users were able to do most of their work from their phones, they still carried around walkie-talkies. This gave him the idea for a single app that would allow users to interact via smartphone using mobile messaging, voice messaging, photo sharing, and video sharing.

Kohani showed Mehler a prototype of the app in its early stages. Mehler, a business attorney specializing in startups, provided feedback on marketing and product development to Kohani. As they began to flesh it out and get feedback, they realized that the app could also have a broader appeal as a social networking and microblogging tool that allowed for multimedia messaging and communication. Soon, Kohani and Mehler were committed to working on the app full time. The company was officially founded on June 21, 2012.

Company
Chirp is headquartered in Long Beach, California. Kohani is the company's CEO, and Mehler is the President.

The name Chirp is derived from sonar. In sonar or radar, a chirp is "a signal in which the frequency increases ('up-chirp') or decreases ('down-chirp') with time". The app's name references the action of propagating a "chirp" out for the purpose of targeted communication.

Launch Date
Chirp is scheduled to launch on January 15, 2014. The app is currently in beta testing.