Clinkle, the yet-to-be released payments app that has been making a lot of noise in the tech space, aims to change the way users interact with the boring old waiting list. The more people a user invites to join the Clinkle app, the higher on the waiting list that user will climb.
Waiting lists online tend to be static — you join (or not) — then you click somewhere else. You may not even remember you’ve joined a particular list. But if users are actively inviting others, that should grow the list more quickly and users’ emotional involvement with it should also increase.
The list, pictured at left, contains a prominent Share function and says starkly, “Share to move ahead in line.”
If only Simple were the same. The financial services provider recently announced it has 40,000 members after being open to the public — sort of — for a year. Simple has a waiting list of more than 250,000.
Clinkle is targeting university students because of the tight-knit nature of college communities, according to founder Lucas Duplan. If users enter a university email address on the waiting list form, they are shown a screen that previews the app without revealing much additional information. (The site does not test for valid addresses, so anyone can view this page, part of which appears above.)
The app looks something like a wallet, with leather textures and slots for holding cards and cash, which is presumably Clinkle Cash, the app’s own currency, said to be used for person-to-person payments. The app will reportedly use a viral strategy for P2P in the manner of GoBank. A user can send Clinkle cash to a friend, and the friend claims it, if he is not a member, by joining the service.
The university students’ portion of the site reads, “Something bold. Something magical. Something fun. And you haven’t seen anything yet.”
The waiting list now stands at about 34,000, and stood at 24,000 on June 28.