Somebody

Conceived as an art work, created with Miu Miu , and launched with a companion film , the app that asked strangers to deliver messages between friends exploded in ways we couldnt have foreseen. Despite the ridiculous challenges, one in four messages were delivered, and an average of ten thousand people used the app every day. The next step could on... ly be to form a real company a start-up! to expand and improve on our users dedication. Or to choose an end date and let Somebody go out as it came in: a wild experiment in public art, marking a particular moment in time. Somebody has disappeared from the world forever. But youll still be here. And your friends are too. And there are strangers everywhere. When you send your friend a message through Somebody, it goes not to your friend but to the Somebody user nearest your friend. This person (likely a stranger) delivers the message verbally, acting as your stand-in. The most high-tech part of Somebody is not in the phone, its in the users who dare to deliver a message to a stranger. Half-app / half-human, Somebody is a far-reaching public art project that incites performance and twists our love of avatars and outsourcing every relationship becomes a three-way. The antithesis of the utilitarian efficiency that tech promises, here, finally, is an app that makes us nervous, giddy, and alert to the people around us. Miranda July conceived of Somebody in March 2014 and worked with the designer Thea Lorentzen and a team of developers to quickly make the complex, gps-based messaging system. The project was created with support from MIU MIU along with a companion film - part of MIU MIU's women's tales series . The app and the movie premiered on August 28th, 2014. After an enthusiastic (but slightly frustrated!) response, Somebody was rebuilt from scratch. Version 2.0 was released in April 2015, for iOS and Android. SHOW US HOW YOU USE SOMEBODY! Send us a video, photo, email and well share it! WANT TO WRITE ABOUT SOMEBODY?Read More