The issue

Something like 80 gajillion images and videos upload to Instagram every day. It’s a powerful platform with a ton of information, but it’s primarily used for micro-escapes from reality — people scroll through their feed, drift around the world for a minute or two, and then snap back to whatever they were doing. Where’s the utility? Why can’t we use Instagram to easily figure out where to have lunch or grab a good cup of coffee?

The Sightseen team hopes to solve a common issue — “I want to quickly find the best restaurants, bars, things to do around me. What are my options?” Locals and travelers alike want memorable and unique experiences which show the real side of a city. Starting in Amsterdam, we aim to better connect people with what’s going on around them.

The mobile experience is a visual one and there’s a better solution to urban discovery.

Why Sightseen?

TripAdvisor and Yelp are text-heavy, and their reviews and recommendations dubious at-best. Local bloggers are a good source of curated information, but who has the time to search for and dig through a bunch of blog posts? Plus, people often use their phones for search and nobody enjoys scrolling through reviews and blog posts on a phone.

Sightseen is a simple, visual guide of what’s good in Amsterdam. Sightseen makes it easier for you to figure out where to go and what to do. We read the blogs. We’ve eaten at the restaurants and been to the bars. We know where to go around Amsterdam. We’re doing the work for you and putting what we learn in Sightseen.

If they’re unsure where to eat, nearly half of people won’t search for a restaurant until within an hour of going.

Ok, what does Sightseen do?

Sightseen focuses on inspiration, planning, and experiences. If you’re thinking of visiting Amsterdam, you can poke around the app, see what’s going on, and save whatever inspires you to your Favorites. If you’re in Amsterdam for the first time and looking for a cafe to get out of the rain or a terrace to enjoy the sun, you can quickly find a quality location nearby. If you live in Amsterdam, Sightseen is a way to break out of your routine and try something new.

With Sightseen, you can…

Browse Collections prioritized by time of day and time of year

Search for locations by Category or what’s nearby

Easily find directions, opening times, and contact info

Save your Favorites for later

42% of all travelers use their phones to plan or book their trips. While traveling, 56% use their phones to look for restaurants and 51% to look for things to do.

Can I add to Sightseen?

Yes! We hope you do. Your finds will make the app even better. Tag your Instagram pictures #sightseenapp and our magic machine at the Sightseen studio will alert our team. We will immediately gather, review, and determine if your picture should be shared with the Sightseen community.

Mobile queries per user from hotel properties have grown 49% since 2014, with many including the phrase “near me.”

What’s next for Sightseen?

We’d really like to figure out how to get the KNVB into Euro 2016, but as that seems pretty unlikely, we’re going to focus on the following…

Listen to you — How can we improve Sightseen? What should we change? What can we add? Send us an email or take our super simple feedback survey. We’d love to hear from you.

Android version. (Sorry, Android users! It’s coming.)

More current information — “What’s going on this weekend,” “Top-5 new restaurants,” etc.

Adjust the UI navigation a bit. When we started this adventure, hamburger menus were still en vogue. We realize that’s no longer the case.

Ride-sharing support

Reservation support

Real-time messenging support. What if we had a WhatsApp number that you could send questions…would that be useful?

Additional cities — Where should we go?

Launch details

Release date — March 14, 2016

Price — FREE!

App Store — Download Sightseen

Website — www.sightseenapp.com

Sightseen PR Fun Pack — Download from Google Drive

Thanks for taking the time to learn about Sightseen. Please send us feedback! We have a lot planned for Sightseen and we’d love to hear your thoughts.

The Sightseen Team

www.sightseenapp.com / info@sightseenapp.com

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