Meetro

Meetro
Company type	Private
Industry	Instant messaging, Social networking
Founded	June 1, 2005; 21 years ago
Defunct	2007
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, United States
Products	Multi-protocol social messenger with location-based services

Meetro operated as a multi-protocol social messenger incorporating location-based services (LBS), compatible with platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, GTalk, XMPP, and ICQ. It allowed users to discover nearby individuals with shared interests by integrating several messaging networks into a single application. The company was based in San Francisco, California and provided support for both Windows and Mac OS X systems.

Launch and early history

Meetro debuted on June 1, 2005. By August of the same year, speculation arose online suggesting that Meetro was negotiating an acquisition with the search engine leader Google. These claims quickly attracted widespread attention, although CEO Paul Bragiel chose not to confirm or deny the reports. The source of this rumor was external to Meetro’s staff and was perceived as a form of promotional leverage.

How it works

Meetro set itself apart by enabling users to define location parameters to locate others in their vicinity. Its location-based capabilities were most effective across the Americas and Europe but were available worldwide. If automatic location detection failed, users had the option to input latitude and longitude manually.

The application determined user location by detecting nearby wireless access points’ MAC addresses, matching them against a database, and estimating latitude and longitude with approximately a quarter-mile precision. It then displayed users currently online within selected ranges—such as a quarter mile, half mile, or one mile—while preserving privacy by not disclosing exact coordinates. Users could choose to share precise location details publicly if desired.

Prior to shutting down, Meetro incorporated support for U.S. business address lookups as an alternative method for location entry.

Features

Meetro offered the ability to build personalized profile pages that were searchable by nearby users. These profiles supported content feeds including videos, photos, and blogs, allowing integration of dynamic media from platforms like YouTube, Flickr, and individual blogs. It was among the rare services providing 'profile aggregation' by crawling the internet to assemble a comprehensive digital persona of the user.

Unlike conventional social networks, Meetro permitted instant messaging with local users immediately after signup without requiring mutual consent, encouraging real-time local engagement.

By late 2006, Meetro enhanced its platform by displaying nearby venues such as restaurants, cafes, and bars on an interactive map, with intentions to add features like local weather updates and geotagged photography.

Additionally, Meetro launched location-aware web widgets, including a StatusBadge that displayed a user’s last known location on personal websites or blogs.

Users could also form dynamic real-time groups within the client based on multiple criteria such as availability status (away/online), gender, distance radius, keywords, and relationship types (friend, friend of friend, or unrelated). This distinctive rule-based grouping mechanism allowed targeted filtering using personal attributes combined with geographic proximity.

Company background

Originating in Chicago, Illinois, Meetro’s compact team initially worked out of a shared live/work environment before moving to Palo Alto, CA in late 2005 under similar conditions. This unconventional workspace arrangement attracted media coverage including an article in the San Francisco Chronicle. At the time of its closure, Meetro’s headquarters were located in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood.

Meetro discontinued service in 2007 as its development team redirected efforts toward their Lefora initiative.

References

External links

Meetro Official Website