The average person checks their phone 110 times a day. If you are like me, it is more like 200! Security is a big issue so many have some sort of security lock screen. I have a Samsung so I can change the lock screen image and customize a personal message. But staring at the same message and screen every time I check my phone (without having to change it constantly) gets boring. I am always on the look out for good mobile apps, anything that makes life easier, more productive, and more entertaining/informational. Locket falls under the latter category. It is a lock screen app showing trending stuff, casts from “casters” and content categories that you can follow.
Every time I unlock my phone, I either get a different article, breaking news, or inspirational photos to keep things interesting. If you want to read the article or see the photo, you swipe left, if you want to go to your phone, you swipe right. In addition to categories and casters, you can choose to get the latest weather updates, inspiring photos, and your personal picture gallery on your lock screen. Definitely a nice change from the same old screen, but beware of what you choose to follow! I was following the category “Bros – Time to Bro Out” ( I am sure you can figure out the type of feed they push out) and turned my phone on to show my wife something and the locket image just happened to be “The Instagram Babe of the Day.” It took a little explaining for me not to be in the doghouse!
There have been major changes recently which shows they are continually growing and going through the stages any start-up faces. People generally don’t like change and some of the comments on the app reflect it. I am sure there is more to come, but Locket has been featured on ABC, Bloomberg, Time, Buzzfeed, and quite a few other publications. Tyra Banks even became an investor and it is backed by some well-known venture capital groups. To me an app is more than just an app. It really becomes a lifestyle, especially if you see or use it on a daily basis. What separated Locket apart from the hundreds of other apps that I have used, is that the Locket team was very responsive. In fact this was the first app that actually reached out to me to see how I liked it and to get feedback.
Instead of ignoring solicitations like I normally do, I decided to reply back expecting not to hear anything. Surprisingly, I got referred to the CEO of the company Yunha Kim, where I actually saw some of my recommendations implemented. (She recently wrote an article on what she “…learned in My First Year as a Female Startup CEO, Top 3 Pros and Cons of Being a Woman in Tech). Pretty impressive resume and if there is anything I have personally learned from my extensive time in the military, business, politics, and the non-profit world, who you have on your team is more important than anything else. So far everyone I have talked to and interacted with at Locket has been great to work with. DISCLOSURE: I am now one of the “casters” for Lockets. Which means you can download the app, go to the casters menu bar, and follow me (David Chang – Learn The Art of Thinking Smart) for awesome content that I cast on a daily basis (you can see how many people follow casters so help me out! :-))!
There are other apps with wallpapers, widgets and launchers that have customized information on your screen. Locket has created an algorithm to learn about your preferences and cater what you see on the screen. It even has a glance counter to track how many times you actually check your phone. If you have more than 150 per day, let me know and let’s see how has the most! The secret to anything successful is continuous improvement through feedback loops. The Locket team is a dynamic team and look forward to see what the app has next.