For immediate release
'%3e%3cpath%20fill='%23222224'%20d='M110%2052C155%2015%20194-2%20243%201Q247%202%20240%205L211%2018Q230%2016%20245%2020Q248%2021%20244%2023L206%2047Q226%2038%20244%2035Q247%2035%20243%2039L224%2065Q246%2072%20260%2083C278%20131%20295%20230%20307%20314Q313%20326%20291%20334C231%20363%20141%20361%2062%20343C17%20335%201%20317%207%20248C11%20156%2056%2087%20110%2052Z'/%3e%3cg%20class='toucan-eye'%3e%3cellipse%20fill='%23fff'%20cx='103'%20cy='169'%20rx='48'%20ry='54'%20transform='rotate(7%20103%20169)'/%3e%3cg%20class='toucan-pupil'%3e%3cellipse%20cx='113'%20cy='158'%20rx='28'%20ry='29'/%3e%3ccircle%20fill='%23fff'%20cx='121'%20cy='148'%20r='10.5'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3cpath%20fill='%23131315'%20d='M161%20130C202%2095%20259%2076%20310%2078C335%2078%20354%2080%20373%2088C407%2099%20429%20124%20438%20169C450%20199%20455%20252%20426%20277Q420%20280%20417%20271Q410%20254%20393%20252Q358%20250%20306%20265L249%20284C210%20299%20171%20297%20157%20270Q145%20252%20151%20219L165%20198C158%20181%20151%20150%20157%20138Z'/%3e%3cpath%20fill='%23ffca23'%20d='M161%20130C202%2095%20259%2076%20310%2078C335%2078%20354%2080%20373%2088C318%20122%20305%20182%20320%20227C283%20227%20191%20255%20151%20219L165%20198C158%20181%20151%20150%20157%20138Z'/%3e%3cpath%20fill='%23f44f43'%20d='M373%2088C407%2099%20429%20124%20438%20169C420%20197%20398%20219%20379%20232Q348%20226%20320%20227C305%20182%20318%20122%20373%2088Z'/%3e%3cg%20class='toucan-beak'%3e%3cpath%20fill='%23ffca23'%20d='M151%20219C191%20255%20283%20227%20325%20228C364%20226%20396%20235%20417%20266C382%20235%20339%20265%20286%20280C228%20302%20194%20302%20171%20287C151%20276%20143%20250%20151%20219Z'/%3e%3cpath%20fill='none'%20stroke='%23222224'%20stroke-width='3'%20stroke-linecap='round'%20d='M151%20219C191%20255%20283%20227%20325%20228C364%20226%20396%20235%20417%20266'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cellipse%20fill='%23f44f43'%20cx='199'%20cy='163'%20rx='16'%20ry='10'%20transform='rotate(-30%20199%20163)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Nine years after its founding, Socialocca is a product studio building free tools for creators
The Scranton company that began as a small-business marketing agency in 2017 now builds its own apps, most of them free.
SCRANTON, Pa., Nov. 4, 2026
Socialocca, an independent studio based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is now a product studio, building original web apps, digital tools, and creative systems for creators, small businesses, and online-first brands.
Where it started
Founder Ryan K. Hertel started Socialocca on May 31, 2017, as a marketing agency for small businesses. In its early years it built Inkaloo, a website builder that powered hundreds of client websites, along with Blu, a social media tool, and the Socialocca Web Store for domains and hosting.
The pause, and the return
From 2021 to 2025, Hertel stepped away from launching new products to explore other ventures. He returned in mid-2025 with sharper development skills and a list of product ideas. On May 31, 2026, nine years to the day after its founding, Socialocca relaunched as a product studio.
"I spent years doing for clients what most creators could never afford," Hertel said. "When I came back, I wanted to build that into tools anyone can use, most of them for free. And I wanted the company to stand for something: human-made work, honesty about AI, and giving small creators a real shot."
What it builds now
Socialocca's apps cover the jobs small creators are expected to do like big brands: proving their content is theirs (Pudding), announcing news (Howler), designing a brand (Shapeshifter, Fontora, Vectora), building a website (Inkaloo), checking one (Tamandua), and planning content (Blu, Tempo). Each lives on an illustrated rainforest island at socialocca.com.
Alongside the apps, the studio offers custom brand identity and websites through Brands by Socialocca and Sites by Socialocca.
What it stands for
Socialocca publishes its digital-ethics principles, including that it never uses client materials to train AI models and that people, not machines, lead its work.
Availability
Socialocca's apps are at socialocca.com/apps, and its studio is at socialocca.com/studio.
About Socialocca
Socialocca is an independent product studio that builds free and low-cost web apps, digital tools, and creative systems for creators, small businesses, and online-first brands. Founded in 2017 by Ryan K. Hertel and relaunched as a product studio in 2026, it is based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Its apps live together on an illustrated rainforest island at socialocca.com, and its studio offers branding, custom websites, and a free website checkup through Brands, Sites, and Tamandua by Socialocca.
Media contact
Ryan K. Hertel, Socialocca
press@socialocca.com
socialocca.com/press
###