So the new Fribi app is out in the open, a lot of cool stuff has changed owners and new people are joining our community!
We love it and apparently so does media!
A new store featuring our CEO is out. Read the full story here.

We just need to say a couple of words about the two guys that are working their ass of programming the whole application. During the last two weeks they have been working 24/7 and are doing an incredible job. It’s amazing to se the dedication and love that these two are putting in Fribi. It works like a charm and looks like a million bucks!

SO TOMMY AND PER K – WE LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE JUST THE BEST!

We found a guy in Drammen, Norway that has given away a lot of cool things on Fribi and is just awesome so we had a chat with him.

Hello! Can you tell us who you are, where do you come from and what do you do with your time?

I’m Mads, a 22 year old Visual Communications student currently living and studying in Drammen, Norway. I’m about to finish my BA this spring which means I’ve started to build my portfolio, get in touch with companies and generally try to get ready for the coming days. I’m currently working on an application assignment for a Graphic Design school in Oslo but still think it’s vital to start making connections at this point. The best possible outcome would be to either land an internship for the summer before potentially starting the studies, or even better – a freelance position at a communication/design agency making me able to work full time with design, communication and everything else I’ve been studying now for three years. Up until now I’ve been working part time at a gas station to make a living, which essentially isn’t optimal, but necessary.

Allright, lets hope that some agencies read this and offer you a nice internship! So what do you think of Fribi?

I love it! It’s a great way for people to get rid of things they don’t need that can potentially make life a little easier or better for others.
Personally I’ve also been so lucky to get my hands on a book on typography from Per Olav Walmann, one of Fribi’s founders and developers. He’s also the Design Director at Jimmy Royal, a company that have my utmost respect and have worked with many big national and international companies, developing websites, strategies and games, to mention some.

Getting the book from him in person at Jimmy Royal/Fribi’s offices was, to put it mildly, awesome!
Via Fribi, I’ve also gotten contacted by a local design/communication agency for a chat and a coffee. To me, this just shows that staying positive and active is another way of getting noticed by potential employers and partners, which is nothing but great.

Networking trough fribi, lovely! How did you find out about the app?

Honestly, I can’t remember. I think I firstly read about it somewhere in a Norwegian online magazine before deciding to try it out when it popped up in Apple’s App Store as “New and noteworthy”. As this was while I living and studying in England, it wasn’t until I eventually moved back home that I got to really engage in giving away things I had lying around that were better off in the hands of others.

We are happy to have you back! You are giving away a lot of things – why? And how is the response from the people that receives your fribis?

Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world I’m a lot like my friends and family – I have a lot of things lying around that I barely or never really use or have the need of. Why should I, or anyone else for that matter, then bother having them around when I know that someone else might have use or need of them? Knowing that I can make someone’s life a little better by donating my things away is all the excuse I need.
I’m a firm believer of that you necessarily don’t need a lot of possessions in order to be happy, it’s more the other way around. Less stuff to care about – more space for things that matter, like time to make new friends, connections, cook a good meal or listen to some jazz.

So far the response has been good. I’ve sent a pair of shoes to Sweden, given away my old Nintendo DS Lite and sent CDs and DVDs, belts and bracelets around the country, all in order to help the community grow, make people happy and make the world a bit of a better place.

- You got a book from Per Olav, did you find anything else or are you just really really generous? And one last thing, is there anything you need/wish (maybe some of our readers can provide when they read this?)

There are a lot of cool things floating on the Fribi market, normally with the really sweet things like Apple-accessories and books getting snagged away rather quickly. Since I’m a student living in a tiny apartment that I’m soon moving out of, things like washing machines, lamps, beds, big IKEA furniture and children’s clothing isn’t really something that would be either convenient or necessary for me to ask for yet.
Still, I’ve been so fortunate to get my hands on two books so far – the one about typography I mentioned earlier and one about Norwegian book covers from the last 100 years. To me studying Visual Communication these are real gems that will work both as education and inspiration in the many years to come.

Then of course, if there are somebody sitting on an extra Apple Magic Mouse or any other Apple-related accessory they don’t need I wouldn’t be hard to ask. Also, I’m actually on the lookout for a decent table lamp to add to my coming office/workspace, so if anyone’s got suggestions I’m just an e-mail, SMS or tweet away. And of course when talking about tweets, if anyone’s interested to get in touch regarding basically anything, I’m very available on twitter.

Thank you Mads! We are really happy to have you as a user of Fribi, its people like you that help things like this to actually work. To all you fribi users start following this guy, you will not be disappointed!

//Love from the fribi team!

As promised here is a sneak peak of the new and fresh design. We don’t want to show too much but we can promise you that it looks really nice! We are adding some new stuff and you are looking on one of them, can’t tell you what but its going to rock your world! Enjoy and don’t forget to share and like us on facebook! The more people knowing about us the more cool stuff you will find in our application.

// Love from the Fribi Team

Hi all, here are some news about whats happening at the office. First off all, last couple of weeks Fribi has grown a lot and there is many tweets and blog posts out there promoting us. We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you that contributed to make this happen. We love you all!!!

Alright, to the NEWS! A lot of you asked for new functionality, new features, better communication between users but mostly we had many people asking for a Android version. And yes, we listened and have just started working on a brand new application for you Android lovers out there. But not only that! While we are on it we are adding a lot of new functionality to our iPhone application and a spanking new design!!
All this will of course take some time but we are working night and day to get this out there as soon as possible for you guys. So hold on for about 2 months and look forward to see many more fribis in your phone and say hello to Android as a new family member.
We will keep you updated about the process on our blog, twitter and Facebook and of course share some teaser images. First out are some wire-frames to check out, we don´t want to spoil the suprise! Stay tuned, a lot more to come…

…..One last thing, a new web page will be up very soon. Yes with fribi browsing

/Love from fribi team

Allright! We got some nice input for new functionality in our application from a fribi user in Finland so we asked him some questions as well. Here goes Julien!

Would you tell us a bit about yourself, and how you’re using Fribi?
I am a Swiss citizen living in Finland and working as graphic designer in a company based in Helsinki. I personally love order in everything and need to live in a tidy apartment, so I usually don’t keep anything superfluous around me… That’s why Fribi is a good way to get rid of all kinds of stuff I don’t use anymore! Some things can of course be sold but many others can simply be given away to people around you that might need it.

How did you discover Fribi?
I discovered Fribi when it was featured as app of the week by Apple in the Finnish iTunes store.

It seems like app of the week is working, lots of new users found us there, thanks again Apple! So have you given away something on Fribi yet?
I haven’t given away anything yet but my first “deal” is just about to be made! Though I’ll have to send the item to Denmark so the deal won’t be entirely free…

Cool, really nice that you are sending it, maby you can get the other person to pay that. Is there anything you think we can make Fribi better and get more users in your area?
The most important thing now is to make the app known outside its country of origin. First Europe, then the world! In my case there’s right now not much happening in my area since we’re only about 3-4 users in Finland. Every happy Fribi user should spread the word as much as possible in social networks for example and by showing the app to friends and family. Otherwise I think the app is already very usable, I could only see a few tweaks to be made here and there. For example making one’s own fribis invisible in the item browser. Making it iPad compatible would certainly be a good idea too!

Thank you Julien! We are working hard to develop for other platforms and hope to have a version for Android out soon. Anyway – keep up the good work and tell all friends in Finland to get rid of stuff they don´t need. We hope to see more content in your area soon.

Hi Daniel, its really nice of you to help us spreading the word and also to keep fribi clean of stuff that don´t belong. We really think that users like you are helping fribi to grow. Can you tell us something about your self?

My name is Daniel and I am 16 years old. I live in Aarhus, Denmark with my family. I have one sister and two brothers.
I go to typical Danish school with about 500 students. At this school I go to ninth grade, and will soon be started with an education.
I’m also a freelance website Developer for some minor Danish companies and community websites, and a single music label company. I love to develop and discover new websites and mobile applications.

Wow – 16 and already so much going on, impressive! Can you tell us how you discovered Fribi?
I discovered Fribi in the App Store as the “App of The Week”, so a banner. The banner, logo and description sounded promising. So i decided to download the application, and see if it was as good as it said in the description. And yes it was!
I discovered a whole new way to easily discover this whole “One man’s trash, another man’s treasure”-concept, where you give stuff you don’t need anymore, to someone else’s joy. And i loved it.

And we love that you love We know you’ve given away stuff on Fribi already. How’s the response been so far?
I have since given away stuff like printers, PC games and more, as I didn’t used it anymore. And the people I gave these things to, where very pleased about both Fribi, and the stuff I gave. Mainly because it was so easy to both find, and locate. They get your number from the application, and just after maybe three to four text messages, you have an agreement. Your stuff is not gathering dust anymore, and someone else enjoy it.
Fribi really makes the whole “giving free stuff away” concept fun, easy but also even more enjoyable.

Thats what we are aiming for! Make it fun and easy, look out for the new version – it will be awesome! So finally, how do you think we can make Fribi better and get more users in your area?
I think what could make Fribi a more attractive place, would be expanding the application to many more platforms, but without letting the main concepts of Fribi for iPhone, fall to ruin. Because, what makes Fribi a very nice and useful application, is in particular, its ease and clarity. It would also be nice to have a shipping price field, where users can write a national shipping price in there ad, to let people, who do not have the ability to pick up things, know what shipping costs in advance.
Because I’ve learned that, a lot of people wants some stuff they find shipped, because there either live outside the country, or because they live in another city, but in the same country. And therefor i think it would be good to have a single price, or even country-based price list with shipping prices. But of course, this information may be optional to complete.

Allright! Thank you Daniel, our team will of course look at your input and we can also tell you that Android is our number one priority. Enjoy using fribi and we hope that Denmark grows even more soon!

Most people know the feeling of receiving Christmas presents from an aunt, or maybe a brother in law, that they really don’t need nor want. A lot of people have been swapping goods on Fribi lately. The audience is there. Why don’t you put your redundant presents out on Fribi, either as a real give away, or a swappable Fribi? We are sure there are many people out there that would like to get a hold of the gifts that are superfluous to you.

Best regards
The Fribi Team

Christmas is just around the corner and we are already planning the next steps for Fribi. We have a lot of crazy ideas and want to know if our thoughts are good or bad. So to do this we want your help, first of all we are going to send out a form to all users and ask some questions the second thing is that we want to set up a team of beta/idea testers that can come in to our office and help us out. So are you interested? Do you have ideas you think can make fribi a better, more useful or just a cooler application? Send us a e-mail and we will contact you with more details.
Send the e-mail to lukas@fribi.no

Keep up the sharing and giving people!!

/Love from the Fribi Team!