Did you know!? The latest app trends among college students.

As previously reported in the October 1st issue of Dentsu Inc. News, the app "Circle Up," developed by Dentsu Inc. Wakamon as a platform for university clubs, has won the 2014 Good Design Award. (Details here )

Dentsu Inc. News Release
www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2014/1001-003829.html
　

Circle Up was highly praised by Good Design Award judges: "Circle Up, created with the innovative idea of effectively replacing mailing lists, appears to be an SNS when you look at the app itself, but its backend functions as a mailing list. It also plays a role in strengthening ties with companies, making it an excellent example of the successful redevelopment of a communication tool."

As of October 2014, Circle Up has 1,600 registered clubs from 200 universities. Its key features are precisely this "mailing list function" and "offer function."
Commonly abbreviated as "mailis," mailing lists have seen reduced use in business settings but maintain enduring popularity as a unique college culture. In fact, a simple survey conducted to gauge trends revealed that while LINE ranks first as a tool for managing new students, positions 2 through 4—Circle Up and "other mailing lists"—show that email-based management prevails over SNS platforms like Facebook or Twitter when excluding LINE.
Reasons cited include: "It's awkward to ask for LINE IDs at first meeting," "Mail lists feel more 'official,' so we use them alongside LINE," and "LINE is for close friends, while mail lists are the standard for club management." This suggests tools are chosen based on the level of closeness with the person.

How does your club manage new members' contact information?

Today, we used Circle Up's "Offer Feature" to investigate college students' app usage. This Offer Feature, by the way, is one of Circle Up's signature functions. It allows users to earn "points" that can be converted into club activity funds simply by participating in surveys or events from companies.

What apps are more popular than photo-sharing apps?

First, we looked into what apps college students use beyond major SNS platforms like LINE and Twitter.
While photo-sharing SNS like Instagram, games, and news apps are popular, the app most people reported using outside of major SNS was, surprisingly, "schedule apps." Did you know about these "schedule apps"?

A schedule app is an app that lets you create a schedule based on the classes you're enrolled in. It's an app unique to college students who plan their schedules around class periods like Period 1, Period 2, etc. These schedule apps also let you find out class locations and cancellation information. According to the survey, a whopping 90% of college students answered, "I've used one."

Have you ever used a class schedule app?

Sharing Lecture Notes via Photos

Timetable apps began gaining popularity around 2012. Nowadays, various companies release them, and they've evolved with unique features like a "Friends" function that shows classmates taking the same course, or an "Attendance" function to track whether you attended a class. Among these, the "Notes feature" is particularly noteworthy. This feature allows users taking the same class to share their notes with each other. The culture of sharing lecture notes via photos rather than handwritten memos has become quite widespread, and this "Notes feature" cleverly combines that culture with the unique characteristics of schedule apps. It seems like how college students earn credits is changing significantly.

Do you ever share photos of your class notes or board work with others?

PDF apps and shift management apps also emerge

Beyond club apps and schedule apps, free-response answers to "apps essential for university life" included PDF conversion apps for report creation and shift management apps for part-time jobs. There were also mentions of the recently released "TadaCopy App" by TadaCopy, which lets users make free copies on paper with ads on the back. The world of university student apps is quietly gaining momentum. It's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

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【Wakamon Profile】
Dentsu Inc. Youth Research Department (nicknamed Wakamon) is a planning team that engages with the real lives and mindsets of young people, primarily high school and university students. By understanding their "now," we seek hints to brighten and invigorate the near future. We foresee the future based on their insights and realize new businesses that foster better relationships between young people and society. Currently, 14 project members are based across our Tokyo headquarters, Kansai branch, and Chubu branch. Stay updated via the Wakamon Facebook page.