Interview (part 2): John Poisson of Radar about mobile photo conversations

Last week, we talked with John Poisson about Radar, which allows anyone with even basic mobile web access to share photos with friends. Radar also offers a mobile application that runs on more than 225 devices today, offering a richer, more interactive mobile experience than the Web version. Poisson’s Tiny Pictures, which created the service, has 14 employees. Today we asked about users, features and the future for Radar.

How many users does Radar have so far?

Poisson: More than a half million, with increasingly impressive engagement metrics. Growth has been strong in America and Europe through this year, and Asia and Africa have been picking up a lot of steam. There’s a ton of demand for a mobile-centric product like Radar, especially internationally, and we’re absolutely hitting our stride on the mobile experience.

What’s your assessment of the mobile photo realm?

Poisson: There are lots of companies building photo-related services in the mobile space, but much of what’s out there is focused on public sharing, whether it’s photoblogging (or the horribly-named ‘vlogging’) or community sharing sites for cameraphones. Some of these services are interesting but many miss the mark entirely. Other services take a very technology-focused approach, allowing users with smartphones to synchronize photos with their PCs or push content to other services. Again, some of these serve a need for a specific audience, but that audience is largely tech early adopters, and ultimately there are far more people out there who find this to be an unsatisfying value proposition.

So Radar is not just for techies.

Poisson: Radar isn’t so outwardly focused on technology or process. Radar is helping you staying in touch with the people in your life. You share pictures (and videos) as they happen–as you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing, important or ordinary–and your friends can immediately engage with you around those moments from their phone or PC. It’s an ongoing conversation between you and your friends, starting with these pictures but weaving in through comments and whispers and real-time conversations. It all folds back in on itself in a way that’s hard to describe (and harder to engender!) but when new Radar users experience it, they’re hooked.

What features do you plan to launch next? And, in the future?

Poisson: Our latest release focuses on making it far easier to share with your friends, whether you’re a mobile-only user or more web-focused. We’ve got a ton of other features in the works, including some important ways to improve the first experience for new users. We’re also in the process of taking our web experience up a level, and the next few releases will see some dramatic changes here. Long-term, there are some fascinating opportunities. What can we help you do with this collection of pictures and videos and conversations between you and your friends? How can we further integrate this new form of communication into your life so it’s more seamless and more natural?

In five years, what will people be doing with applications like yours?

Poisson: I believe that in five years we’ll look back on this time as the start of another phase in the evolution of photography, much like we did at the advent of consumer film cameras, then Polaroids, then digital cameras. Cameraphones afford connectivity, and Radar makes that connectivity useful and relevant.

What future technological changes in mobile will have the biggest effect on Radar?

Poisson: I wish for only three things: speed, responsiveness, and openness.