I was the Voice of Path. Below are just a few samples of my work — from web pages, to in-app copy, to our manifesto and company values, as well as blog posts and product announcements.
Blog: Beastie Boys
Product Announcement: Path 2.5
JUST PAR FOR THE PATH
“No shame in my game just par for the path. I try to hone my craft because at hand’s the task.”
- The Move, Beastie Boys
The passing of Beastie Boy Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch on Friday May 4th struck the Path office like a stone to an egg. What spilled out were profound memories, shrill sing-a-longs, and a fond farewell. Yes, we are proud Beastie Boys fans here at Path. And those of us who weren’t may now have a better appreciation.
The intimate space on Path that we are working so hard to build has been another place for people to express their sadness in the comfort and company of the people they love. It’s been an honor to witness and participate in the power of this empathy. Path has always understood the importance of family and friends in times of fighting for your right to party, or in this case, grieve.
On May 4th, the Friday of MCA’s passing, people on Path shared 6,000% more Beastie Boys music stories than the day before. Sabotage, Intergalactic and Fight for Your Right were the favorite remembrances on Path. Moral support through commentary and emotions was enormous.
Path would like to thank MCA for his legacy and his fans for supporting the band and each other in this time of regret. If you are interested in supporting a cure for the cancer which took Adam well before his time, click here. In the meantime, run your Licensed To Ill record ragged and don’t live life any less fully than MCA did. Because you can’t, and you won’t, and you don’t stop.
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PASSING THE FRIEND TEST
Everyday, nearly 50,000 friendships are formed on Path. That means at this point, Path represents millions and millions of friendships.
At least some of these millions of people must be a lot like me. When I started working in tech, at Path, nine months ago, I had an interesting relationship with technology. I was dependent on it, certainly, but I didn’t love it. Technology was something that interrupted my real life, that stole time from real passions and being with the people I cared about. This sentiment is exactly why Path spoke to me. When I open Path, I feel the same way I do when I see my family and best friends, because that’s exactly who I see.
I treaded lightly my first weeks at my new workplace and prayed they wouldn’t discover their grand mistake. I heard she won’t read on a Kindle! She’s never seen Star Wars! But somehow I was accepted, I learned the speak, and all these months later, I’m still here, a little smarter and with newfound appreciations. I can now pick Chewbacca out of a lineup, and I organize my iPhone apps by color, but my friends say that on a good day they still recognize me.
And most importantly, I can say I am part of something that is fostering millions of relationships. I can’t help but feel moved by that. Indulge me while I tell you the story about my best friend. It’s relevant, because my best friend works at Path. Sure, we gossip by the coffee machine and show up at the office in the same outfit, but Path isn’t where the story started. Not even close.
Nell and I met in the sixth grade. We bonded over Mr. Big and the Clash and a secret stash of Cosmopolitan magazines. I played soccer, she rode horses, but we both loved sleepovers and books beyond our reading level. Technology had no role in our friendship. When Nell went to boarding school and then moved to Scotland for college, we were bad at emailing and video chatting. When we did use technology to keep in touch it was because it was the only option. We were best when we were together.
Until Path. It has proved to be something intimate enough for two people who know each other inside and out, who are together everyday, who share clothes and journals and memories of middle-school dances. Since we started using Path, we have become even closer. We keep tabs on one another as we explore the city, sharing a mural or burrito that reminds us of the other. Nell is an overly modest photographer. I used to have to beg her make extra darkroom copies for my collection. Now Nell snaps photos with her phone every day, and more often than not, they are no short of breathtaking. I like to write. I rarely used to share, but this year Nell has become my best reader. And we have Path to thank for this.
Maybe tech isn’t your thing, maybe it is. But friendship is everyone’s thing. Something truly essential. 50,000 friendships a day! And counting!
- Leigh Lucas, Path
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KELLEY O’HARA: A GOLD MEDALIST ON PATH
Olympians seem superhuman. They have dinner plate-sized hands, sledgehammer six-packs, and mingle with world leaders and celebrities. Michael Phelps keeps 15 gold medals in his sock drawer. It’s understandably hard to relate to the guy when all we’ve got in ours are socks.
But the games are over, and for the most part, life returns to normal for these people, amazing as they are. They are home again, with their family and friends.
Kelley O’Hara is one such Olympian. She just won a gold with the US Women’s Soccer team. And yesterday she returned to her apartment in San Francisco, unpacked her bags, and put her gold medal in her sock drawer. How do I know that? Because it’s my sock drawer too. Kelley is my roommate and one of my best friends. We share clothes and advice and ice cream cartons, and we also share on Path.
Kelley checked in, shared her thoughts, took photos and videos, and her family and closest friends got to emote and add embarrassingly enthusiastic comments on every moment. Her parents and brother and sister, who traveled to the games, were able to show her their pre-game support with photos when Kelley couldn’t be with them in the stands.
Kelley has 44,000 followers on Twitter. She has some ad campaigns and a lot of free cleats. The girl’s a big deal and people know what she’s up to. But only Path lets a few of us be close enough to her to hear the crowds, to feel tempted to tug on adorable Sydney Leroux’s braid in the huddle.
There are extraordinary people that accomplish extraordinary things. But what is more important, even than winning the gold? Loved ones to share it with. And this, I believe, is the magic of Path.
- Leigh Lucas, Path
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Introducing Path 3 - A Brand New Language
With Private Messaging, Stickers, and the Shop
When we speak with friends, share a joke, a quiet word, or a conversation over drinks, there is so much more than words that pass between us. A smile or nod or encouraging gesture – these allow for true connection and understanding. Being really with someone. How can a technology hope to recreate our unspoken language? How can it create the experience of being across the table from someone, beside them in a crowd – when you are miles apart? It’s a goal worth striving for, and one that is so important to us.
Today we are excited to introduce Path 3.
Private Messaging
We have added private messaging – the Path take on it – that we hope will help you feel like talking in person, with a hand on your arm, seeing a friend’s scrunched nose, wide smile. That it might make you laugh out loud.
One-to-One & Group Messaging
One-to-one and group messaging is made for the smaller, more personal conversations that you want to have on Path. It includes text, voice, location, stickers, songs, books, movies, photos, and videos. There’s utility and context. For example, if you’re running late, you can tap the location button to let a friend know where you are. Or if you don’t have free hands to type, you can record a voice message.
Stickers & The Shop
These are pieces of art to be used in messaging. They are expressive and fun, and they communicate what words can’t. You can choose what speaks to you, and speaks best on your behalf: a fist bump, over-caffeination, jealousy, big love. We’ve given you two free sticker packs designed in-house and we’ve worked with some of our favorite artists, like David Lanham, Hugh MacLeod, and Richard Perez, to create packs that you can buy in the Shop.
Thank you for being with us these past three years. If you are just joining us, we are so happy to have you, welcome. We hope you enjoy Path 3.
Path 3 is available in 19 languages and for iOS and Android devices. Get it now in the App Store. Available soon in Google Play.
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Path 2.9: Introducing Path Search
Memories mean a lot to us. And it’s been like that for humans forever. We’ve invented methods of keeping memories so we can relive them, share them with others, and pass them on. Storytelling, in its many forms, has been our best memory-preserver – and our history, religions, moral codes, are all the result. Recently, our tools and methods for keeping our own memories safe have been shoe boxes, notebooks, photo albums, home videos, folders of pictures on computers, cell phone photo libraries. But today we’re offering a new way: Search, on Path 2.9. Search allows you to find all of your memories instantly.
Search to recall stories faster. Show your family that hilarious Halloween costume or your friends your recent hiking trip. Two taps and boom!, the moments are there for you to share. Whether you’ve been capturing and sharing moments on Path for a while now or you are just starting today, search will be your best way to remember, access and keep your memories. Import your life to Path from Facebook, Instagram, and Foursquare, and keep every moment in one safe place, take it with you wherever you go, and recall anything instantly.
Different personalized search suggestions pop up every time you tap the search bar. Specific stories like, “Photos from the ski hill,” “Watching the baseball game,” “Listening to music on the weekend,” give you ideas of memories in your Path to bring up. Other search queries are categorized by friends, places, dates and holidays, seasons and weather, locations, birthdays, moments, and emotions. If you tap “Nearby,” the moments recalled will only be those captured near your current location. You can find that sushi restaurant downtown or get ideas for touring Seattle. Additionally, you can type to search for a specific memory. You might be grasping for the same memory when once you think, “Thanksgiving last year,” and another time, “Dana happy in autumn,” and the next, “funny turkey photo.” So you can search like you think, it’s how we’ve designed it.
We are rolling out Search incrementally and in English only to start, so please hold tight and know we’ll do our best to get it to every one of you soon. Download Path 2.9 in the App Store or Google Play for your iPhone, iPad or Android. We hope you love it.
Learn more about Search here.
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Life in Landscape: Path has come to iPad
We are excited to announce that today Path has come to the iPad and the all-new iPad mini. We have reimagined the experience of Path to be uniquely optimized for this platform.
Life in Landscape
See the day on one screen and swipe to see previous days. See the check-ins and arrival moments of each day on a single map. Path in landscape-view is the best way to catch up with your family and friends, revisit days and the moments that made them special.
Living Large
iPad allows for larger moments that show more. For example, view a friend’s book moment in full-screen and see the cover enlarged, your friends’ comments, and the faces of every person who’s seen it. You’ll also read a description of the story and see a list of friends who have read it too.
Improved Navigation
The home screen displays more – alongside your home feed, see recent activity and your friends list. Now visiting a friend’s Path or a full-screen view of a moment with recent activity takes just one tap.
More of Your Family and Friends on Path
Being on iPad means Path is available to more people now. Maybe you are one of those people. Or maybe you can share with a few more of your family members and friends. Now you can show your grandmother the inside of your apartment, and she can show you the cinnamon coffee cake she just pulled out of the oven.
So kick back at the end of your day and check up on the people you love, on Path for iPad.
You can download it here.
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Introducing Path 2: The Smart Journal
Over the last year, you have told us about the ways you’ve been recording and sharing your lives on Path — things like summer road trips and high school graduations, a baby’s first words, and hundreds of sunsets. You also used Path in ways we could have never imagined. You shared screenshots of songs playing on your iPod, photos of notes to friends and family, videos of the weather, pictures of menus, and more.
You let us know that you’ve been sharing information on Path that you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing elsewhere; that you appreciated our faithful commitment to your privacy, and that you loved having a space that was judgement-free, where you could be yourself.
Your enthusiastic support of our vision and your unheralded creativity deserved a response. We realized that Path could be so much more, so we built a better version of Path for you, your friends and your family. So today we are excited to present to you Path 2: the Smart Journal — a re-imagined, re-designed, and simplified Path. We think you’re going to love it as much as we do.
We’ve built a host of new features that make it easier to share even more on Path — your thoughts, the music you’re listening to, where you are, who you’re with, when you wake and when you sleep, and as always, your photos and videos.
With these new ways of sharing stories, we had to re-imagine what a Path is and what it looks like. To start, we made it so you can now see and enjoy your stories through a simple, uncluttered, full-screen view. Decorating the top of your Path is your Cover: a large photo of your choosing that serves as wallpaper for your Path. If you’re just getting started with Path, you can choose from 42 hand-picked photos by photographer John Carey or a photo from your own library. And if you’re upgrading from an earlier version of Path, you will automatically be assigned one of these pre-set photos as your Cover, with the option to customize just a few taps away.
For those of you who enjoy sharing on networks like Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook, we’ve made it simple to check-in, upload photos and videos, and tweet directly from Path.
Your trust in Path has also motivated us to build a new feature we call Automatic. This amazing new feature enables Path to learn about you as you go about your daily routine. You can optionally choose to have your Path updated with stories about your life—automatically. For example, Path updates whenever you spend time in a new neighborhood. Or, if you travel to a new city, Path lets your loved ones know. Path is now a journal that writes itself. Less effort from you, more stories in your Path.
We’ve had a lot of fun building Path 2, and we can’t wait for you to download it and explore. Path 2 is available today for your iPhone or iPod touch from the App Store or for your Android phone from the Android Marketplace. Enjoy.