People looking to make the most of their leisure time can now take advantage of a new global platform that combines the best of listings, discovery and location-based social networking services.

With a robust iPhone and Android app as well as a responsive website, Fiz (www.fiz.com) helps users reclaim time that would otherwise spent trawling the web, local guides and newspapers for places to spend their free time, by crowdsourcing the best information about destinations.

The Fiz platform collates data from across the web, giving users access to maps, directions, telephone numbers, reviews, photos, weather, tweets, UK traffic updates and general information – all in a single, slick interface. Places are categorised by type and, importantly, by area of leisure, so users can easily find locations they’ll be interested in.

Place data is drawn from Foursquare and Google as well as Fiz’s own database of locations and a range of other APIs and feeds. Each place offers custom local information, in many cases from other users who have actually visited the destination, while all photographs are user-generated so they paint an honest picture.

The information offered at launch will mean that users only have to open one app instead of several to discover information about a certain place. As more users contribute and share, the app will grow into a curated local platform, offering the best information about destinations, wherever they are.

Users can add places to the platform and rate existing places – telling others what the locations are ‘great for’, a unique way of helping them find destinations based on the things they like to do. They can also add their own reviews, ratings and photographs to places listed on Fiz.

Contributors earn karma points for every action they make in the app – even just opening the app or rating a location will increase a user’s score as a way of saying ‘thanks for sharing’. These points will ultimately be converted into real world rewards for top contributors.

With a responsive, mobile-enabled website and an app for iOS and Android Fiz is platform-agnostic, so can be accessed on whichever device is most convenient for the user.

“Technology has the power to transform the way we spend our leisure time. However, trying to draw the right information together to plan an enjoyable experience from several different sources is time-consuming and confusing and we want to make it easier,” said Fiz co-founder David Hughes.
“Fiz has been developed to help all types of user – from enthusiasts to socialites, lone travellers to families, jet-setters to local experts. But at its heart Fiz is a community, developing a network of content that brings places to life and that will, in time, create an ecosystem where quality information is held for everyone to benefit from.

“Fiz is on a mission to help everyone reclaim their precious leisure time. But this is just the beginning, with much more planned for the future. We will continue to bring the best user content together to give a single, comprehensive view of what makes a place worth visiting,” he continued.