How many people do you know that have created an app? What about a social media site? Or anything at all for that matter? This seems to be news to most, but UF currently boasts its very own Mark Zuckerberg. Jared Kash, creator of an app called Time Flash, is a junior from New York (fairly cool) triple majoring in film, anthropology and advertising (even cooler). I recently had the chance to sit down with Jared and pick his brain about everything Time Flash has to offer.
What is Time Flash?
Time Flash is a digital time capsule app that lets users capture and share important moments with friends and family. So on February 14th, which is when we’re launching our first version, it’s solely going to be an app. You can take a picture or video, say maybe of your friends at a party, and then you choose exactly which friends you want to see it. Opposed to Facebook, which broadcasts to everybody, Time Flash lets you select those individuals that you know will appreciate it. And then you set a time in the future, any time you want, whether it be a day, week, month or year. You can even send it to yourself. I really feel that Time Flash is the first social media app that values longevity, as opposed to immediate gratification. But when I originally came up with the idea I just thought of it as wanting to remember my study abroad trip right now, or to relive those moments and see where I’ve grown.
Who do you think will get the most valuable use out of Time Flash?
Our initial target market is college students. We’re hoping for that daily activity, the liking and commenting. While it’s closed there is a countdown ticking over the filter, so you can’t really see the image, but you get a sneak preview. You can send a time capsule a decade into the future, which is what I had my grandparents do. But a college student is going to want to remember last night, like a hangover history type thing. You can use it so many different ways. Say a public figure like Nelson Mandela launched a capsule a year into the future after his passing. Everyone would know the countdown and wait for that moment as an event. For advertisers, they know that they have people’s attention at that exact moment.
How exactly did you come up with this concept?
When I first came up with the idea I was studying abroad in Barcelona. I was at the Pablo Picasso museum and one painting caught my attention. I got lost in a train of thought about this beautiful women in the painting who’s been dead for decades, but you can see her emotion and beauty. It’s like the painting acted as a time capsule to bring that moment into the future. People don’t really receive paintings anymore; it’s mainly photos and videos. I think that everyone should have the chance to experience his or her thoughts and moments again in the future. With the social media we’ve grown up with I just applied the two and thought, “Wow, this would be really cool.”
What’s it like juggling being a full time student here at UF while creating an app?
Not easy. I guess at this point I don’t even think about what I’m doing. It just becomes part of my day and you have to learn how to balance. Like, I’ll say to myself, “Okay I have to go to class and then after I have to jump on this conference call.” Luckily a lot of my professors understand, but I did have one really funny response from a teacher when I told her I couldn’t attend class because of business trips I had to go on. She goes, “Did you really come up with that entire lie just to skip my class?” I can tell you my entire life, heart and soul is Time Flash, but my GPA is doing fine!
Via: fastweb.com
What are your hopes for Time Flash and the future in general?
My first goal is to give our generation a different perspective on the way we use social media. Today it’s all goofy and not intimate. I want people to understand what they’re doing on social media instead of just craving the immediate gratification. I think it has the potential to be really special. For myself, I can tell you that I want to graduate college. Most of the company is torn as to whether I should finish school or move back to New York, but I want to stay because I love the University of Florida. But this is not a small thing, it’s not just me! I want to emphasize that my idea is one one-thousandth of what Time Flash is. The amazing team I have behind me is how this was possible. For the future, I definitely have ideas for more apps. I also want to help other people with their ideas for different startups and offer them advice.
Time Flash will be available on February 14th for free in the app store. If you’re interested in checking out a brand new social media app, seeing what all the hype is about or just want to support a fellow gator, go ahead and give it a download.
