Knicks’ Miles McBride Introduces Mmotion: A New Era in Social Connectivity
In 2020, Miles Deuce McBride transitioned to New York City as a 20-year-old rookie for the Knicks. The vastness of the metropolis presented challenges in forging genuine connections. Reflecting on his early days, McBride shared, When I got up here, everybody on my team was married with kids or just kind of loners. I wish there was a way to meet people organically who have the same interests. I feel like with social media, everybody is so superficial.
Identifying a widespread challenge among young adults, McBride collaborated with seasoned entrepreneur Joe Einhorn to develop Mmotion. This innovative application seamlessly integrates location tracking with social discovery, enabling users to connect based on mutual interests and discover local venues like bars, restaurants, and cultural spots.
Currently in its beta phase in New York City, Mmotion sets itself apart from traditional friendship platforms such as Bumble BFF. Instead, it positions itself as a competitor to services like Snap Map and Find My. Notably, Instagram has also ventured into this domain with its recent Map feature. The beta version of Mmotion is exclusive to 1,000 members.
Mmotion employs geofencing and state tracking to monitor user movements, spotlighting nearby individuals with shared interests. It also records visited locations to suggest similar venues, providing users with a private log of their location history—a personal timeline of their explorations.
Accessing Mmotion requires a membership application. Once approved, users can specify their interests, join Circles or groups aligned with activities like hiking, attending basketball games, or visiting art galleries, and send friend requests to nearby users. The app also facilitates private messaging.
Prioritizing user safety, Mmotion encrypts location data, ensuring it’s accessible only to the user unless they choose to share it. By default, users operate in Vault Mode, remaining incognito until they decide otherwise.
For those who wish to share their location selectively, Mmotion introduces Personas. This feature allows users to create up to three distinct groups, enabling them to share specific locations, like their home address, with a chosen audience while maintaining a broader public profile.
Standard safety and moderation tools, including blocking and reporting, are integrated into the app.
Mmotion operates on a monthly subscription model. While exact pricing details remain undisclosed, Einhorn hinted at affordability, stating, It’s not going to be more than a cup of coffee per month. It’s not going to be anything crazy. Premium options offering additional features may also be available. For instance, the basic tier allows users to join up to five Circles per city at a time.
Beyond user subscriptions, Mmotion offers value to local businesses. By featuring establishments like restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and fitness studios on its map, the app promotes small businesses and provides them with insights into their customer base. Aggregating data from sources such as Google, OpenStreetMap, and Apple Maps, Mmotion envisions a subscription service for businesses, granting access to anonymized analytics to target customers effectively.
In addition to subscription fees, the app plans to generate revenue through advertisements.
This venture marks McBride’s inaugural foray into the startup world, aligning him with other athletes who have embraced entrepreneurship. Einhorn, known for founding and leading Fancy—a social e-commerce platform that competed with Pinterest—also launched a luxury goods startup, Long Story Short, last year.
Mmotion aims for a broader release soon, following feedback from its initial testers. The app is currently available for download on iOS and Android devices.
