The RoomSync Nerdz have been hard at work on a new version of the RoomSync Android app which is now available. This new version is expected to fix the occasional crashes occurring in the app and also includes speed improvements for a faster and more seamless matching experience.

We have received a great response from Android users since the launch of our Android app, and we're excited for them to dive into our newly improved version. RoomSync's iPhone app is currently under production and will be launching soon. 

Do you have a cool feature idea, either for our mobile app or the original Facebook app? We want to hear from you! Visit our new RoomSync User Support forum to submit your ideas and search our FAQ's.

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email us at info@roomsync.com or tweet @roomsync.

NASPA is an organization for student affairs administrators in higher education. In an effort to innovative ideas and practices in education, NASPA runs initiatives and holds events to bring together higher ed vendors, school representatives, and special guests. Last week, RoomSync was lucky enough to make our debut in the world of student affairs by exhibiting at NASPA’s 2012 annual conference. There we also encountered something special and rare.

A Surprise Keynote. Lucky for us, Grammy Award winning vocalist, John Legend was the keynote for the opening reception. Attendees may have been confused as to the connection between the performer and the theme of the conference, but it turns out that Mr. Legend, along with his passion for music, is a giant advocate for education. He founded The Show Me Campaign, a nonprofit organization that fights poverty using proven solutions, with the hope that diminishing poverty will lead to higher high school graduation rates and college attendance for the next generation.

In fact, Legend is so committed to eradicating poverty and bringing education to every child that he created the Show Me Fellowship Program, which awards young people who are dedicated in improving the world. The program provides $3000 stipends for college students who take unpaid internships in the areas of international development and US education. Note to students, teachers, and parents - the program is currently accepting application for the 2012 Fellowship.

The Cycle of Education. I was truly moved by John Legend’s key note. While he performed a few songs for us (and mesmerized the crowd), I was even more intrigued by his convincing discussion on the effect of poverty on education, his enlightening perspective and worldliness, and his ability to open us up to true realities we face as a nation:

“U.S.  high school graduation rates have fallen from #1 to #18 in the world. One third of American children don’t graduate from high school. Just 15% of our schools – the ones we call “drop out factories” – are responsible for 50% of the drop out students and those schools are more likely to have a majority of students who are African American or Latino” (ShowMeCampaign, 2012)

The Full Circle. Here at RoomSync, we are a higher education company; however I think we, along with other higher education companies, often don’t remember the connection with and potential impact we have on post-secondary education. We have to work harder and broaden our awareness, so that more students graduate from high school and make it to college. Then, we can all play a role in helping those students become successful in life.

Happy Holidays from RoomSync!

Still stuck in the office? So are we! Take a break and enjoy this little holiday video we threw together for your viewing pleasure.

Starring (starting top left, counterclockwise): Ariel, Anjali, Michael, Alex and Rob

Merry Syncing,
The RoomSync Team

PS. Our hard-working RoomSync elves have been slaving away in their workshop on the new RoomSync mobile app, which will be debuting in early 2012. Look out for an announcement, complete with more details, coming soon!

We love green (and going green) here at RoomSync! We aim to be wildly resourceful, as doing so usually leads to innovation, decrease waste, and more money in our pockets (we're complete thrift store junkies). Lucky for us, the guys at Grooveshark were kind enough to give away their old office furniture to startups here in Gainesville.

We also love companies that use an eco-friendly approach creating their products. Recently, Co-founder and VP of Marketing, Rob Castellucci, did an interview with Parisleaf, a local web, design, and print firm that offers a revolutionizing green approach to brand development to clients world-wide. Parisleaf plants more seeds than they use to print clients’ product, off-setting their carbon footprint and leaving the client carbon neutral.

For Rob’s interview and more on the green machine, check out Parisleaf’s blog.

Hi guys, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Anjali Kundra, and I'm RoomSync's new VP of Client Relations (aka Clientology)! I'm here to make sure we're providing everything we can for our clients, whether it’s technical support or new marketing ideas. I used to work for an innovative, fast-casual restaurant, where the founder showed us that the goal wasn’t customer satisfaction, but “Customer Loyalty.” We were committed to "Absolute Hospitality" - going that extra mile and ensuring that our customers received the most rewarding experience. For the industry, it was unexpected, and it was what kept our customers coming back again until they ultimately became family.

During my days selling sushi, I discovered my passion for hospitality, along with my desire to help people realize what they want and need, especially when they don’t know what that is. I’m excited about bringing everything I learned about customer loyalty and ultimate hospitality and applying it in a new way at RoomSync. We believe RoomSync will be successful for your community if you and your team have the right resources for implementation, and that's why the founders believed it was imperative to bring a specific person exclusively for client support onboard.

We hope that you will ask us for anything you need and let us know what we need to improve on (we love feedback). Additionally, we will be rolling out new features and resources for clients over the upcoming months. Stay tuned! 

Keep Syncing,

RoomSync’s Official Clientologist

New Layout for Client Network Pages

We’re excited to announce our new layout for RoomSync network pages! Our team has designed the layout to enhance the app and create a more streamlined and richer user experience. This new optimized layout seamlessly walks users through the RoomSync process and incorporates graphic elements to highlight features & important info, as well as gives users immediate access to features and their community.

Left-side Navigation Menu

Instead of reading information off one congested static network page, users can now easily navigate through multiple pages using our quick-access side navigation tab. This menu gives users easy access to relevant information on specific pages, with options of “Getting Started,” “Network Pages,” “Wall,” and “Find Roommates.”

GETTING STARTED

The ‘Getting Started’ tab helps jump-start the roommate matching process on RoomSync by immediately prompting users to take action, starting with “Get Familiar with Network Info.” The process is clearly presented and users are walked through key steps they should take to find their ideal roommate.

NETWORK INFO

The “Network Info” page, which is 100% customizable by clients, gives users access to important client/network information, including how matches work, that requests must be made to the network administrator, and the active network dates. This section ensures that users are given all the information they need to complete the process, so they can provide the housing department with the correct information in time.

WALL

The interactive wall gives members a place to introduce themselves and interact with the community in order to start building connections, both as roommates and as friends.

FIND ROOMMATES

The “Find Roommates” tab has “Browse” and “Search” options that make it easy and exciting for users to find potential roommates. The “Browse” option takes users to the roommates browse page where they can view a list of all their potential roommates, filtered by lifestyle preferences. The “Search” option lets users search for potential roommates with specific interests listed in their Facebook profile (e.g. “Soccer”). Users can also search by academic major and/or preferred residence hall.

Final Roommate Request Date and Members

Below the new side navigation tabs on the left hand column, users will find our newly added “Final Roommate Request Date.” This section graphically highlights the network close date and constantly reminds users of the last day they can turn in their roommate request.

Finally, users can easily view other members in the network through the “Members” section, which is the last section in the left hand column.

User Experience and Satisfaction

We believe our new streamlined menu and other features will increase user success in finding a great roommate, but we are always looking to improve the application. Please let us know what you think about the new network page layout by commenting below or post additional feature ideas!