LocalHero, a mobile application for smartphones, today announced that its premiere product is now available for Android phones. LocalHero lets people who have questions about everyday life topics engage with a select group of friends and people nearby who have similar interests and relevant skills. By matching a person’s need with friends who can help and are located nearby, LocalHero connects users with a trusted network of potential heroes. The company launched its iPhone version of the product at the TechCrunch conference in San Francisco in September and was a TechCrunch Disrupt finalist at the show.
In conjunction with the Android availability and the holiday season, LocalHero is partnering with charity organizations, such as local canned food drives, making it easy for users to be a LocalHero to the community. Users can simply list Charity in their LocalHero skills list and receive opportunities to help local charities this season.
During these difficult economic times, many people are looking for creative ways to share not just with charities, but also share their unique talents, skills, time and energy with people who could use extra help with any everyday activity, such as providing feedback, gifting ideas, tips on serving a special holiday meal, along with product and service recommendations.
“LocalHero connects people who have at least one thing in common – an altruistic desire to help,” said Ana Baltodano, CEO of LocalHero. “This desire to help has resonated with people around the world. We have been pleasantly surprised by how quickly LocalHero has spread from the United States to Europe to the Middle East, and Asia. People want to connect in a way that’s useful to others. We’re here to enable real people to ask real questions and get real answers and assistance from a trusted network of friends.”
One of LocalHero’s initial users was working on a thesis paper for college. She posted a request on LocalHero for help editing her draft paper. By that afternoon, she had two heroes nearby who were willing to review her thesis paper and offer comments for free that day. The two heroes divided the work for a fast turnaround, and even went beyond the original request and continued to offer assistance as the requestor completed her thesis paper. That’s just an example of how users can ask for help with just about anything, or choose to use their skills to be a hero for someone else.
The company launched just three months ago, and has already seen over 35,000 downloads, creating a network of over half a million potential heroes worldwide. Already, LocalHero is ranked as a top-downloaded application in 89 countries. LocalHero is available for free at the iPhone App Store or via Android carrier application stores.
