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To Find Out About Us, You Need To Know Where Wupwoo Began…

If you know anything about us already, then you might already recognise Wupwoo. This is because Wupwoo first began in 2013. With the popularity of mobile devices, face-to-face conversation was becoming a distant memory. At the time, there was certainly a big problem with young people only messaging via phones and the internet. Hence, Wupwoo was created as a brand new, fun, free game, which was sure to give players a laugh. Above all, it was then a very uplifting change for the better! Users communicated via chat venues using the mobile app, but also face-to-face in real-life games. Wupwoo could be played in teams, with friends, or individually. Therefore, it allowed people to break down barriers, meet new people, have a laugh and win great prizes.
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THE KEY POINTS OF WUPWOO ORIGINALLY WERE:

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Secure

  • Secure, anonymous, interactive, social online platform.
  • Anonymity allowed users to change their identity (username and appearance). They could re-enter as a new person to escape any online bullying.
  • Used NFC tags and QR codes so that users had to physically go somewhere and do something.

Social

  • Rather than being one massive social network, Wupwoo was made up of lots of little social chat. Each had a moderator to ensure users’ safety and their adherence to the rules (e.g. no bullying).
  • The social chat system in Wupwoo purposely did not allow images and files to be sent. This was to again avoid online bullying and keep anonymity of the users.
  • A big problem at the time was kids not communicating with each other in person. Wupwoo wanted to allow communication in real-life through the games which were played in real-life venues and online via chat venues.

Bootstrapping

  • Users were gained via bootstrapping. They were encouraged to recommend their friends and in return receive rewards via Wupwoo’s rewards system.
  • The credits system made Wupwoo scalable. Organisations would buy a batch of credits which they could give to users. Then, users could get real-life discounts and offers from real businesses and organisations using their credits. As such, organisations that joined Wupwoo benefited from marketing promotion and potential for new customers.

Then, Wupwoo Had A New Opportunity…

Then, in 2017, POSM began working for Worcester Health and Care NHS Trust on another project. The Trust said they were were also looking for a social network for young people with mental health problems. Above all, this social network needed to be very secure, anonymous, safe and social. It also needed to allow users to get important information about mental health. Most importantly, it had to help young adults with mental health issues, without putting more strain on the NHS and CAMHS waiting lists. The idea was to provide help to more people using less resources. Therefore, Wupwoo was described and it was explained how Wupwooo could be adapted to fit this purpose. As a result, Wupwoo was given a new lease of life as a platform to help young people with mental health problems.

Wupwoo Collaborated with Young People…

In November 2017, a meeting took place with Wupwoo, Worcester Health and Care NHS Trust employees and CAMHS staff. There were also some CAMHS users and Youth Board members in the meeting too. The aim of the meeting was for the young people to brainstorm ideas and create a wish-list of what they would like Wupwoo to do. As well as what they wanted Wupwoo to look and feel like. Finally, ideas were collated to plan how Wupwoo would be adapted to fit their needs and the needs of WHCNT. Encouragingly, the response from this meeting was very positive and many ideas were given.

Here We Are Today…

Further meetings were organised to refine the most popular ideas even more. A plan was then made to bring the ideas to life in Wupwoo. Consequently, Wupwoo has been adapted, with the help of young people for young people. Therefore, Wupwoo by definition has somewhat changed. Although, it is still an exciting social game, it is now an anonymous, interactive and social online platform. Moreover, Wupwoo provides moral support and encourages users to engage in social and physical activities. The virtual, interactive world of Wupwoo combines helpful resources, instant messaging and supportive online help. However, some aspects of Wupwoo that you may have become familiar with in 2013/14 still remain, but have been improved.

As a result, Wupwoo can now be adapted for many different uses and organisations. To see how Wupwoo could benefit your organisation, please see What is Wupwoo?

Award Winners

In July 2019, Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust were awarded the MidTECH Award for Best NHS-Developed Innovation for BESTIE, which is developed and powered by Wupwoo.

To Find Out More About Us…

If you would like to find out more about us and our team, then please read our ‘meet the team’ section below.

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MEET THE TEAM

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Steve Johnson

Director

Steve was drawn into the IT industry in the late nineties. He developed a time management application for his wife’s beauty business. Additionally, Steve provided services in marketing and print. Then, the next project Steve began was Wupwoo, when he created the company and the app. This undertaken with his now Co-Director Ryan Lauterbach.

Fiona Johnson

Co-Director

Fiona is a co-director of WupWoo Ltd. Having previously worked in the beauty industry, her creative skills have been translated into graphic design. She works on a variety of projects for the company.

Ryan Lauterbach

Co-Director

Ryan is a co-director of Wupwoo. He works on some technical and development aspects of Wupwoo. Ryan specialises in Perl programming.

David Czichowski

Co-Director

David is a co-director of Wupwoo. He has a wealth of experience in computer hardware. David also owns his own hardware company (Xpert IT).

Emily Bennicke

Project Manager

Emily joined the company in the summer of 2017. She has a Bachelors degree in Psychology. Now as the Project Manager for Wupwoo, her work mainly consists of working with developers to turn ideas into reality in Wupwoo. She has to ensure the timely completion of tasks. Emily is the main contact point for Wupwoo and BESTIE.

Charlie Thompson

Social Media Executive

Charlie joined the company in early 2018 as the Social Media Accounts Manager. He is in-charge of the running of Wupwoo’s social media accounts. Additionally, he works on the marketing and promotion of Wupwoo.

Oni Cortez

Illustrator

Oni is an illustrator. He is the architect of the WupU avatar, which was first created in 2013. Since then, Oni has updated the WupU avatar. He has also created more personalisation for avatars. Moreover, Oni created the personal space graphics.

Abby Bromley

Graphic Designer

Abby joined the company in 2018, with a BA in Fashion and Brand Promotion and a Masters in graphic design. Abby has 12 years of studio experience. The previous brands she has worked for include: Joe Browns, Radio Times and Card Factory. She is proficient in the adobe suite. Her role within Wupwoo is to create graphics for the app, such as clothing. Abby also creates graphics for the website and for marketing Wupwoo.

Lyuda Dzyubinska

Developer

Lyuda joined the company in 2018, with a Masters degree in Information Security. Lyuda is proficient in developing web and mobile projects using JavaScript technology. Her skills also include React and React Native. Currently Lyuda is the main developer for Wupwoo.

Aymen Taarit

Developer

Aymen started working with the company in 2013. He began working on Wupwoo. Since then, he has enhanced his skills as a Full-Stack Developer,. He also enrolled in Software Engineering Studies. He knows React, Node JS, CSS, HTML5 and React Native.

Matthew Fox

Developer

Matthew joined the company at the beginning of 2019 as a System Administrator. He works with the team to ensure the IT systems run smoothly. Matthew also specialises in Linux and Perl programming.

Sundeep Dhillon

Website Developer

Sundeep joined the company in the beginning of 2019. She has a Bachelors degree in Information Technology. Her main job is developing the Wupwoo website. Sundeep is proficient in developing web-based projects.

Wupwoo For A Better U

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