A Brief History of Jagimo!

In 2010, we were brainstorming ideas for mobile apps. Rather than asking “What would be a cool app?,” we asked “What can a smartphone do, and how can we make the best use of it?” Smartphones are always on, always with you, always connected. They allow for multimedia input, push notification, and location-based technology. With this in mind, we thought of the old Telephone Game, in which A STORY changes as it is communicated from one to person to another. This idea continued to evolve, culminating in the idea of random people tossing text, pictures, audio, and video at each other, something akin to the game of Hot Potato. We loved the serendipitous, spontaneous, and creative feel to the game and decided to move forward. Later, the game was extended into a social network that incorporates our vision and ideals regarding openness, identity, and social ranking.

Where did the name "Jagimo!" come from?

The name Jagimo! is a play on the Japanese word for potato, "Jagaimo"--an allusion to the early Hot Potato idea.

What the jagimo! team believes

Flexible identity rules allow you to participate at a comfortable privacy level--remain anonymous or provide full name, location, birthday, and links.
Social ranking is based on your activity, not on the number of friends or followers you have.
All follower/following information is kept private so there is no pressure to follow someone back.
You can enjoy Jagimo! at various levels of engagement--lurk, toss, socialize.

Erich Wood

President, iOS Developement

An army brat hailing from all over the world, Erich has been a resident of Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn for almost a decade. In his spare time he enjoys photography, media theory, economics, history, and traveling (often in his vintage Jeep). Oh, and he might tell a dumb joke at an inopportune time, but cannot tell a joke on demand.

woody@jagimo.com

Ernesto Santos

Server Application

Ernesto was born in Havana, Cuba. His family emigrated from there, traveling through Europe, taking the Trans-Siberian Railway, and finally settling in Sunnyside, Queens when he was a teen. Today, when not concentrating on database development and Web application, he enjoys playing with his boules — as part of La Boule New Yorkaise, a local pétanque club.

ern@jagimo.com

Masako Masuda

UI/UX Design

Growing up in Japan, Masako's discovery of music from around the world opened her to see the unknown. She biked through Australia for a year, only to discover she really hates bugs. She has diverse new media design experience creating original web, multimedia interactive kiosks, live presentations, and corporate collateral.

masako@jagimo.com

Richie Narvaez

Editorial

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Richie has written for national magazines, in marketing departments, and for advertising firms. He writes fiction and edits the online literary journal Asinine Poetry. He does not want anything polyester next Christmas, please.