West Lafayette, Indiana - Ryan Ma, a Purdue University undergraduate in the College of Liberal Arts, has developed a new social media application for iOS smartphones that allows for a faster connection to family and friends that he is commercializing through the startup Meemees.

Meemees technology features a social networking application that is advertisement-free and spam-free and utilizes emoji for users to interact in a quick and easy way. The application contains both a newsfeed and chat feature that allows for sharing of updates and pictures with those in a user's network for increased efficiency.

The company was co-founded by Ma and William Ma, his uncle.

"Meemees allows you to easily view the most important moments happening with your friends, family and coworkers," said Ryan Ma, a senior studying political science. "No longer are you subject to viewing pesky advertisements before you can interact with other users."

Users can follow people in their direct network or view a live feed from the Meemees community of all of their connections.

"Tech-savvy individuals will love this application because it allows people to stay connected easily, even with their busy lifestyles," Ma said. "It is an application you can use while on the go and everything is in one application."

Ma plans to continue to develop the application and expand to the Android market.

He said his technology and company made strong use of the tools and space provided at the Anvil, a community co-working space located in West Lafayette.

"The Anvil has been a strong resource for me and I've spent a lot of time there developing the app and learning about what it takes to create a startup," he said.

For a brief video on the application Meemees, visit