1. Company

2. History
     2015    2017    2018  

3. Website

4. Functionality

5. User Interface

6. Social vs. Business Community

7. Content in Communities

8. Philanthropy

9. Consumer Impact

10. Locations

11. References

12. External links

Company

GetAssist, Inc., known colloquially as [https://www.getassist.com/ GetAssist], is an online social media network headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. CEO Bruce Fikowski founded the company on Oct. 26, 2015.^[1] The company was created as a private, ad-free network for both personal and professional needs. GetAssist, also, seeks to support small businesses which played a big role in the social networks emergence. Social networks are free while businesses pay a nominal fee for leads. GetAssist advertises personalized and purposeful connections free of unwanted advertising and content.^[2]

History

2015

GetAssist launched in Calgary, Alberta on Oct 26, 2015. It has been growing rapidly with 90,000 groups as of July 2018 with nearly 100 employees and six offices.^[3] The company would continue to open another office in Edmonton, AB.^[4]

2017

The company opened an additional office in Mississauga, ON the fall of 2017. GetAssist then expanded to Scarborough, ON the same year.

2018

GetAssist opened two new offices this year. The first was a sales representative office located in Vaughan, ON. The company then opened GetAssist Network Centre in July, located in Winnipeg, MB.^[5] The Network Centre aims to help local small businesses to expand and grow local jobs. The Network Centre is exclusive to the Business user of GetAssist. It comes with Mac and PC computers, private meeting space, free WiFi, complimentary coffee, whiteboards, a board room, and presentation area with podium and projector.^[6]

Website

The GetAssist platform is primarily used on both desktop or mobile devices. The app is currently using version 4.9 and works on both IOS and Android devices. It is free to download on Google Play and the App Store.^[8]

Functionality

Professionally, GetAssist connects business accounts to a network of other small business and consumers in their area. It can be used by consumers to find quotes from a variety of local industries, or by local businesses as a means to boost and find new customers. Socially, it is used to create ad-free communities without collecting user information.

GetAssist’s goal was to create an organization free from unwanted advertisements with an emphasis on community. The founders call it, “reclaiming today’s social media. We have posts, all of those sorts of things you would recognize [on social media], but what we do different is we connect two communities, business and social, on the same network.”^[9]

User Interface

There are two different types of user interfaces on GetAssist: one for social use and one for business. Like other social network apps, users have a grapevine, or main feed, as well as options for private groups and personal messages. The main focus within both interfaces is to purposefully connect the business to the consumer, and vise-versa. This eliminates the unwanted ads, illegal data sharing, and selling of personal information. Other features are more specific to GetAssist such as GA Request and the Suggestion Box. Consumers who are looking to find a professional in their local area simply make a request on the app or browser, answer a few questions about the task, and click send. The request will be submitted and sent to all of the business users within GetAssist. Once a business receives the lead, they can reply to the user with their company's quote for the job. The user has the option to accept, or pursue other qualified candidates.

Social vs. Business Community

GetAssist’s social accounts include many features unique to their interface, combining elements from both social and professional social networks. GetAssist Requests, for example, allow users to request a good or service from a business in their area. Users can also directly look for jobs with the Jobs Search feature.

On the social side, Community Network allows the user to check on the groups or pages of their interest and make personal connections.^[10] Finally, GetAssist has a Suggestions Box to allow for direct communication between the user and the company.

Business accounts have similar features, with the inclusion of posting available jobs and connecting businesses to users requesting their services. The app connects small businesses to their local area, advertising unlimited connections with all users regardless of their business account plan.^[11]

Content in Communities

The content in GetAssist mirrors that of other social media networks. However, the organization allows for three separate channels per community: What’s New? Bulletin Board, and Discussions/Events. What’s New? primarily shows off new content in the group, while the Bulletin Board handles content exclusively pinned by the administrator. Discussions/Events, like the title suggests, features upcoming events and group discussions.^[12] Users can engage and make connections within hundreds of different communities. The company hashtag "#Connectwithpurpose", is the main focal point for engaging in the social network.

Philanthropy

GetAssist emphasizes business in the local community. It hosts frequent fundraiser events such as the [https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/events Fill-the-U-Haul] and donates 3 percent of revenue back to the communities that it serves.^[13]

Consumer Impact

Primarily, consumers have chosen GetAssist for its dedication to user security and its value of small communities.^[14] When asked, consumers have said they enjoy the company’s quick response time to inquiries and lack of advertisements on both Google Reviews and Yellow Pages.

Locations

GetAssist has six Canadian offices in the following areas:

• Calgary, AB
• Edmonton, AB
• Mississauga, ON
• Scarborough, ON
• Vaughan, ON
• Winnipeg, MB

References

External links

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