Member Article

Sheffield duo launch ‘ScotorNot’ app as independence referendum looms

Two Sheffield creative entrepreneurs have teamed up ahead of the Scottish referendum to create a new app ‘ScotorNot’.

The app allows people from all over the UK and the rest of the world to have their say, and there are live statistics relating to votes coming in and where the votes are from, tweets about the referendum displayed in real-time as well as Topical questions each day leading up to voting day.

Concept creator Dave Cates, MD of app builders Redemption Media (who have worked with the BBC, AstraZeneca, and Novartis) and the creator of the successful Foodbank App, approached his friend Ant, MD of Creative Stream, to deliver the graphics that the RM team turned into the developed app.

Creative Stream are artist-designers specialising in bespoke digital marketing, illustration and animation. Combining technical wizardry with artistry, their beautiful web sites, branding and digital artwork mean their clients keep coming back for more.

The app was launched on Sunday night after it had been authorised by Apple. The pair were given an expediated review after which Apple accepted and launched the app within minutes, a process normally taking a minimum of 5 days.

Dave said: “Every other piece of media or opinion poll is just full of figures in a very plain boring format.

“I am passionate about getting people more informed regarding politics and it’s my hope that this kind of project brings politics alive in a fun and engaging way.

“It doesn’t need to be bland and after all, it does affect each one of us!

“Also, the referendum can only be voted on by the Scottish people. This seems highly unfair to a lot of people across the wider UK. We wanted to get a real feel for what the rest of us think about the decision.

“So far we’ve had a really positive response with a steady flow of votes and downloads. We really want to see it accelerate towards voting day tho!

“I am undecided about the vote. I don’t think the Scottish ‘Yes’ campaigners have delivered robust responses and answers to key points such as currency and economic topics.

“I’m happy with the system as it is and think it works. But, maybe that’s because I’m English!”

Ant said: “Dave asked if I’d be involved with this project, and being friends and having worked together on digital interactive projects for years, I thought it would be great fun.

“At Creative Stream we love projects that are challenging, fun and really creative, so we were very much up for this. We met up and discussed how we were going to approach it in the cheekiest way possible!

Drawing the politicians was tricky, although Salmond definitely has the most character.

“I love that we’ve given people the ability to have their say all across Scotland, the UK and the world – people are regularly tweeting about this anyway, but this pulls it all together in one place, which makes it fun and interesting.

“Personally I’d be sad to see Scotland leave but I do think that maybe they need to explore it for themselves. I’d vote no but would wholeheartedly support them in their independence if that’s where the vote goes.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .