If you’re the average consumer, browsing through Amazon or eBay can be a cumbersome task, replete with an excessive amount of products to choose from and reviews from strangers who seem like questionable sources. It only takes a few reviews like these to put all others in question, if not make you slightly more cynical towards the entire human race.

Then there’s the issue of actually understanding the specs of an item, especially concerning technology products. What does the “42mm Ion-X OLED Retina display” on an Apple Watch Sport really mean and does it make an actual difference to users? It is problems and questions like these that inspired the founders of the just-released mobile app, Ori, to develop their product that is a refreshing take on social reviewing; and who better to help develop that app than the team here at Fueled.

In the words of founders/father-son duo, Chris and Kiros Papaloizou, the Ori mission statement is as follows: “Our ambition with the app is to provide a platform that brings reviewing to life by giving both a visual and personal dimension to it.”

By capitalizing on the intimate nature of videos, Ori succeeds in bringing to the world of reviewing exactly what it was missing: a friendly face. Instead of trusting the anonymous user posting grammatical error-filled reviews, Ori lets you hear it from the users firsthand in a succinct, 30-second video. Not only do you get a glimpse of the product in a real-life setting, but you get to hear and see the reviewer.

For the Papaloizou family, video was the format they felt most passionately about in terms of providing the best review: “The impact and believability of these human interactions are somewhat lost in its presentation in text and are far better captured in video. Seeing is believing.”

To make their dream a reality, they came to Fueled because of our reputation for always providing user-friendly, functional, and beautifully designed apps. In their words: “With our overall mantra being that seeing is believing, Fueled seemed like a perfect fit;” and we were mutually as stoked to have them as clients.

As Paul Conrad, Product Manager at Fueled, had noted when approached to develop Ori, there was already a defined market for niche social reviews. Using makeup tutorial videos on YouTube as a prime example, it was clear that video reviews generated by relatable people was an area worthy of attention. Though Amazon is the dominating presence in the world of reviews, they’re lacking in the video realm. Therefore, it seemed possible for a startup mobile video review service to thrive without fear of being edged out by an all-powerful competitor.

In a process lasting over a year, the London-based Ori team scheduled countless conference calls with the Fueled design team in order to ensure the product accurately met their expectations and encapsulated their vision. The task at hand for both parties was to create an app that was both educational and entertaining, while encouraging personal connections based on a shared interest.

The Fueled team looked to Twitter to use as a sharing platform within the app. With its concise nature and success in encouraging personal relationships even among strangers, the social media platform aligned perfectly with the Ori vision.

The hashtag system (or for you tech-savvy folk out there, the “hashtag-based descriptive metadata system”) that resulted from this Twitter partnership was not only a playful and familiar feature for users, but it acted as a more simple structure on the back end that allowed for the app to launched more quickly and easily. Users are able to upload a video, label it with a relevant hashtag (usually the name of the product itself), and then other users can search for it using that tag.

For both parties involved, developing and launching Ori was a collaborative and pleasurable experience. The Ori crew summed it up perfectly when describing working with Fueled: “They were highly supportive through every step of the process and were a joy to work with.” Speaking for everyone at Fueled: Ditto.

From television shows to tech products to hair accessories, Ori lets users talk about the products they love (or hate) in the best format possible: video. For both potential customer and current customer, the benefits of this app are apparent in its personal nature, accessibility, and the trustworthiness it’s bringing to the world of social reviewing. We at Fueled are honored to have been an integral part of the process and are eagerly looking forward to submitting review after review of the gadgets and products that make their way into our collaborative work space.