St. Petersburg native Maddy O’Connor has traveled around the country. As a digital communications professional and graphic designer, she has learned all about the impact of community engagement.
O’Connor, 29, has also experienced the challenges that come with work-related travel and relocation. This led her to develop her most personal project yet, the NewTree Social app.
The goal was simple. O’Connor wanted to create an experience that allows users to learn more about community events in a way that is similar to a social media feed. People can scroll through the app and explore certain activities that they may be interested in.
A minimum viable product version was released on the Apple App Store two weeks ago. O’Connor is planning on launching an updated and more “polished” variation this week.
NewTree Social founder Maddy O’Connor. Photo provided.
“You have places where you fit in and then you have places where you work a job but you may not make a whole lot of friends,” O’Connor explained. “I have had experiences like that all throughout my life.”
Prior to returning to the Tampa Bay area, she was most recently based in Washington D.C.
“I just wanted to create an experience where adults like me can kind of get back that infrastructure that they used to have maybe in high school and college where they had groups, clubs and organizations,” O’Connor said. “I basically have had to start over a couple different times and as an adult, sometimes it gets harder.”
A lack of social connection, at times, was a struggle in O’Connor’s life. She believes having a support system is invaluable, especially in an era of social media consumption. O’Connor argued that it can be easy for people to just stay at home and not engage with others.
“I want all types of people to be able to use my platform and not feel like they are stuck to a certain routine in life,” she said. “I want them to be able to put themselves out there. I do feel like we have reached a boiling point with the social media apps. There definitely is a shift right now in wanting that in-person connection.”
O’Connor explained that ratings are an essential part of NewTree Social. Hosts can market their gatherings on the platform. The activities with the best reviews will appear first in a user’s feed. Organizers can promote both free and paid events.
“I think that people are very much used to social media algorithms,” O’Connor added. “I definitely wanted to incorporate some of that so it can feel familiar when people are just swiping through.”
Users can select from a wide range of categories such as wellness, fitness, restaurants, arts and culture and nightlife. There is also a general option. This, she said, can customize the feed experience. Additionally, they can create their own profiles and even link their social media accounts to the app.
Currently, O’Connor is manually approving who can create event pages on the app. She believes that a hands-on approach is key to safety.
While O’Connor has aspirations to expand the concept nationwide, NewTree Social will focus on the Tampa and St. Petersburg market first. For O’Connor, there was no better place to introduce the concept. She emphasized that her hometown was an inspiration in the process.
“NewTree is supposed to symbolize new beginnings and branching out and getting back to your roots,” O’Connor said. “I hope that people can see it as something that is rooted in St. Pete.”
“We have so much to offer in this area,” she added. “I’m excited that it’s starting right here. It’s all about just being nice to your neighbor and being kind.”