NT Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 6, 2014 Page: 5 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THURSDAY, MARCH 6,2014
FEATURES 5
App quenches Denton s thirst or bar specia s
Matt Wood
StaffWriter
Drinking and saving money
are two common pillars
of the college experience.
"Thirstify" aims to help make do-
ing both of those a bit easier.
"Thirstify," developed by UNT
alum Alex Craig, is a mobile appli-
cation featuring 14 bars in Denton.
It offers deals and daily specials
for each bar, and is available on
the Apple and Google app stores.
Craig, founder and head of de-
sign for the app, conjured up the
idea after being commissioned to
make individual apps for Denton
bars.
Craig said the process for get-
ting all of the individual apps onto
virtual markets was "a complete
nightmare," so he decided to
make one with multiple bars in-
stead.
"We thought it would be bet-
ter if we put all these mobile apps
into one easy-to-use place," he
said. "We created 'Thirstify' from
there."
Created in August 2013, Craig
described "Thirstify" as "an app to
find the best deals and best bars
in town."
In its first month, "Thirstify" re-
ceived 11,000 unique hits and has
received as many as 600 down-
loads in a single day, Craig said.
Owner of Oak St. Drafthouse
and co-owner of East Side Social
Club John Williams said he al-
ready knew Craig from seeing him
at his bars.
When Craig approached Wil-
liams with "Thirstify," he opted to
include both of his bars in the app
"I like [the app], but there's still
a bit of tweaking to be done on it,"
Williams said. "But I think right
now, starting out, it's very benefi-
cial."
Williams said he plans to fol-
low up with Craig in a few weeks
to review the app's effectiveness
and page hits.
The tool generates revenue by
receiving a monthly contribution
from each bar to be featured
Craig works with each bar individ-
ually, and declined to comment
on the charges.
Currently, the app only features
Denton bars, but Craig plans to
release a version for San Marcos
next month. The updated edition
will allow users to select their lo-
cation and get information for bars
correlating to that area.
Craig said he hopes to expand
to other Texas universities and
make it a ubiquitous statewide
product.
By working closely with bars,
Craig keeps it up to date with spe-
cials and deals for different Den-
ton bars.
"We also have promotional
events coming up," he said.
"We're putting together a two-day
pub crawl called the Tour de Den-
ton that we're excited about."
At its inception, Craig said he
and his team worked almost full
time on the app. Work recently
slowed after what Craig said was
a "falling out" between him and
the others who worked on the
app. Craig is now the app's sole
developer.
"We just ended up going in dif-
ferent directions," Craig said. "I
took the reins of the project and
I have a friend who helps make
sure the servers are running."
Senior director of finance and
business strategy Jason Bodor
works for GSATi, a Denton-based
software and app development
company. Bodor has used "Thirsti-
fy" himself.
"I think it's a good first run for
an app," he said. "There are a
couple of weird interface issues,
like issues scrolling across the
screen. But it's clean and I like the
concept."
Thirstify
MULBERRY ST
CANTINA
Bar of the Week
In search of margaritas and speciality
drinks? Mulberry St. Cantina is Denton"
newest tequila bar and hot spot.
•
Bodor said it does a good job
catering to people who might be
unfamiliar with the Denton bar
scene and wish to get an idea of
the vibe for each.
He also said the trend of locally
focused apps like "Thirstify" has
become more popular in the last
year.
Future Improvements
A current feature in develop-
ment is a "news feed" similar to a
Facebook feed. Craig said it would
combine all the news and deals
from Denton's bars into a single
stream of information.
GET YOUR
"[That way] you don't have to
like all these different bars' Face-
book pages," he said. "You just go
to our app and you'll be able to
see all the latest updates."
Craig also hopes to implement
"Beacon" technology, which uses
a phone's GPS to determine the
user's location in order to create
offers for the bar a person is in.
"If you're at a certain bar, it
would give you a notification say-
ing 'You're at this bar, check out
this deal,"' he said. " You could
show that to the bartender and get
a discount."
sprin
ore:
STARTED RIGHT /
IN ANGEL FIRE, NM V
angelfireresort.com/spring-break v >
K
'. * ■ . ■ •' * :,v\ v ..
v:,~'»J •- • -,-•... _ .
; . -
Thirstify is a free app that shows the bar specials around Denton. It was designed
by Alex Craig, a UNT alum. Photo illustration by Nicole Arnold, Visuals Editor.
A
ANGEL FIRE
RESORT
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Darnell, William A. NT Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 6, 2014, newspaper, March 6, 2014; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth531884/m1/5/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.