by Sam Smith Nick Molter, a 2014 Ball State graduate, has recently released an app called Dinggo. Dinggo makes deciding what to watch on streaming services easier by using an algorithm similar to Tinder. Users can select what streaming services they use, narrow down by the genre they are in the mood for, and then can swipe through to decide what sounds interesting and what doesn't. Once user feel they have swiped through enough options, they can then see a list of all the shows or movies they felt looked interesting. Dinggo also has an option where groups can swipe together and a list showing what everyone in the group wants to watch will be made. Molter was inspired to create Dinggo after too many attempted movie nights with his fiancee, where they could never decide what to watch. They both felt that there were apps for everything, so there had to be an app that helped decide what movie to watch. When Molter discovered no such app existed, he decided to make one himself and started to work on Dinggo full time. Molter felt the most challenging part of creating Dinggo was designing it. He credited his time at Ball State for his critical thinking skills and his ability to break down complex problems, both of which helped him to create Dinggo. Molter had advice for current Ball State students. “Be frugal... It’s hard to predict what shape your opportunity will take, but financial preparedness is pretty universal.” “You don’t need to do everything yourself,” Molter also said. Molter hired a developer to help him create his app and he said it was one of the smartest decisions he’d ever made. For aspiring app makers, Molter suggested using prototyping software to create a blueprint for your ideas. Molter is currently working on improving Dinggo. He wants to continue to get to a more mature phase where constant updates won't be needed. Since launch, he and his team have received lots of feedback. He wants to “take that feedback and turn it into a deliverable, in the form of refining some of our current features, as well as adding new features. Once this next version is released, we'll continue gathering feedback and making adjustments indefinitely.” The goal for Dinggo is to continue improving and continue gaining users. Molter also said that once the app is in a more mature phase he would like to work on creating new apps. Dinggo is available for both Apple and Android.
