Honest review of this college-focused app that connects friends across campuses

Representation Pic

It's common to hear how friendships that begin in school and college are the ones that last a lifetime. But in a generation that has grown up primarily communicating via social media, where does one begin in the ocean of faces and content available online, that more often than not intimidates, or makes one feel lost? How do you find what one would call ‘my people' or ‘chosen family' on your campus?

Ironically, while scrolling through Instagram a few months ago, this writer landed upon a probable answer to these questions - another social media app, Oodle, that promised a never-before-like experience to students. We were tempted to write it off as another experiment; yet another copy of other giant online platforms with minor tweaks. But we reached out to 26-year-old founder Siddhant Aurora out of curiosity. We were told that the app was still in its beta mode. "It was created while keeping in mind the increase in loneliness among teenagers these days," Aurora had told us over a phone call then, adding that the same will launch in Mumbai's colleges soon.

Siddhant Aurora

By late July, the app had launched in SoBo's Jai Hind and Wilson Colleges. Using a temporary link shared by Aurora for our review, we joined Wilson College. Our feed was divided into two segments - campus and friends. We were astonished to see the campus feed flooded with updates by people from across courses and classes. While some expressed their mood through posts of the canteen food, classrooms, and a cat on campus, others showcased their talents by posting their recent artworks and poetry. There was also an ongoing event in the college for which everyone was updated. The active engagement in times when Instagram has become the go-to platform for all teenagers was something we weren't expecting.

Post our reivew, we reached out to Aurora once again. He informed us that the campus feed was conceptualised to keep people updated about goings-on in the campus, be it gossip, events and club meet-ups or just random updates of what their peers are up to. The friends feed is more personalised, where likeminded people can connect over whatever they're passionate about. He added, "I created this app after a friend had committed suicide. An average teenager spends around seven hours on their phone daily. And so, through this app, our aim is to improve the quality of campus life and help students find friendships that they can nurture. There is a waiting list on our website, and only when the list crosses 500 do we open up a portal for the college. Otherwise, it's pointless. Over 1,000 students have signed up from Wilson. Soon, we will open for other education institutions including Sophia College, St Xaviers, and even MIT, Pune."

When we shared our concern with Aurora about online bullying and harassment, he assured us that they had a team monitoring the feeds regularly. "It is very difficult for someone not from the campus to join a particular college platform. But in case they do get in, or there's someone within the campus causing trouble, we hold the power to ban them. The app is created to promote positivity and friendship. We will make sure that it stays that way," he signed off.

Student-speak

We connected with students from Wilson College without the knowledge of the Oodle team, and this is what they had to say: This app has a similar experience to any other social media platform, but in an inclusive and personalised form. Just like at the campus, you can meet friends and also be introduced to a circle that involves people from other departments. Only, this campus is accessible at any point of time. I am an introverted person, so this app keeps me updated on current as well as upcoming events on campus. The colours, and the overall UI are also neatly designed.
- Shivani Nair third year, BAMMC

I am absolutely hooked to the app! It's a refreshing change from the usual apps, and is sleek and addictively fun. I love sharing pictures, plus the easy filters and captions make it a breeze. Connecting and networking is a blast, especially for introverts. It has no pesky ads, which is a huge bonus, and has become my go-to platform for staying in the loop with everything on campus.
- John Bright second year, BMS

Before I downloaded the app, I would follow a lot of my friends on different social media but there was no one singular app that brought us together as a college. I can now connect with my friends, engage in entertaining as well as educational conversations. If there is news that I urgently want to share with my peers then I can just post it on the app and they will automatically engage with it. This has helped me many times. It's the kind of app that you can't put down once you start using it.
- Vaishnavi Kulkarni second year, BA

Log on to: oodle.social (for waiting list); Oodle on App Store