Chat-up app to change the face of nights out

A new app promises to change the face of nights out forever, by allowing you to chat up people and even buy them a drink, on your phone.

If you’re criminally shy, or forever in need of an ATM, help is at hand in the shape of Venoo, a free localised social network that allows you to search for people you fancy in the same venue using public boards and private messages.

Users log in via Facebook, search by age and gender in the pub or club, and then message.

Venoo also lets you top up to buy drinks for yourself, your friends, or someone you fancy, which should cut down on messing about with credit cards at the bar.

“It’s like a Facebook meets a Tinder, with a till system all built into one in the same venue,” said app creator James O’Keeffe, a doorman at Cork’s Rearden’s who doubles up as an IT genius by day.

“There’s the social side of it, where you chat, and meet and greet, and then there’s the side of it where you can buy food and drink without cash, at a discount.

“Girls love it, because no one rejects a free drink, and for lads, there’s no excuse for your mate dodging his round any more.”

Venoo is operating in Reardan’s and the pub’s nightclub, Havana Brown’s, where up to 500 people a night interact on the app.

https://twitter.com/venooapp/status/476499022216437760

Enterprise Ireland has come on board and Venoo plans to expand to the US by the end of the year.

Having launched over the last two weekends, More than 2,000 people have already downloaded it.

“The drink companies are all trying to get on board,” James added.

‘Last weekend, people got a free drink by topping up. We’ve bought a drink responsibly app into it, with taxi numbers and reminders to stay safe. It only works within the venue, there’s a geo-fence so only people in the club or wherever access it. It’s secure, — it takes your age, name and pic via Facebook, so there’s no hiding.”

By September Venoo is expected to be rolled out in three Dublin venues, as well as bars in other cities.