Would giving to charity keep you using your “check in” type app?

I saw Glenn’s post about one his contacts dropping out of the “check in” LBS games and appreciate his comments on the topic. It got me thinking about how I’ve not been motivated to try even one of them, perhaps because of the “lack of return” and/or the concern about people knowing where I am. (My close friends know pretty much where I am without such a device; I’m really very dull.)

But, I saw an app today that could get me involved: CauseWorld’s free app. Bottom line: every time you go into a participating merchant you get “points” that you can then “give” to charity. The stores “sponsor” those points with the idea that your setting foot in the store will hopefully convert to a purchase. Then, goes the narrative, you tweet or share your “good deed” via FaceBook.

I feel pretty strongly that everyone should do “something” charitable regularly: help in the soup kitchen, give blood, coach the kids soccer team, give money or maybe use this app.

Hey, even Michael Arrington likes it!

New Tool for K-12 Libraries: Foursquare

The Library and Information Technology Association’s (LITA) Top Tech Trends panel was held at the American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter Meeting earlier this month. There, five academic librarians cited the upcoming trends for libraries - some of those writes Lauren Barack are appropriate for K-12 libraries. (Special hello to the really cool librarian from Scanton, PA I met on the plane from Philly into Boston who was attending that meeting. We had a great chat about the state of libraries.)

Joe Murphy, science librarian at Yale University, likes several mobile applications that he believes school librarians can readily adopt for K–12 spaces, including the location-based social game Foursquare, Twitter, and even basic text messaging, which can be used for reference searches and even checking on circulation and availability of materials.

Could it be cool to check in at the library?

- School Library Journal

It’s Saturday Night; Do You Know Where Your Semi Is?

According to an article in InformationWeek, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is about to launch CargoNet, an nationwide database for truck theft information. "Once it’s switched on this weekend, CargoNet will collect up to 257 fields of data detailing everything from destination, plate number and carrier to the time, data and location of the theft, to serial numbers and other identifying detail on the stolen goods. Refreshed several times per day, CargoNet is expected to track more than 10,000 events per year, driving both a national alerting system and a corresponding truck stop watch program." Most truck thefts occur on weekends and the hot spots are Los Angeles, Dallas, Memphis, and south Florida.

Apple Announcement Later Today, But LBS Advertising Solution Announced

So says JumpTap:

“Jumptap, the leading mobile advertising solutions provider, today announced the industry’s first integrated mobile advertising solution for the new Apple tablet.”

What does the company know about the tablet and how it’ll be used?

“While the Apple tablet has a larger screen than a phone, the tablet is still attached to consumers on-the-go who have different needs and behavior than PC users,” said Paran Johar, chief marketing officer at Jumptap. “Our mobile technology and business expertise allow us to reach tablet consumers with more relevant and more timely ads than PC-online ad networks.”

When?

“Jumptap’s new integrated mobile ad solution will support Apple tablet-compatible ad units by the end of February 2010.”

- press release

Update: Report: State Stimulus Tracker Websites are Mediocre

The updated report, “Show Us the Stimulus (Again)” (pdf) was released yesterday by Good Jobs First.

The good news: some states have made dramatic improvements. Maryland led in the ratings, again, but two states that were at the bottom last summer are now termed “Cinderellas” and are in the top tier: Kentucky and Illinois. Minnesota and Utah also made huge strides.

On the 1-100 rating scale:

The Top: Maryland (87), Kentucky (85), Connecticut (80),
Colorado (72), Minnesota (72), Wisconsin (72), California (69), Illinois (69), Oregon (67), Massachusetts (65),
Georgia (64), West Virginia (64), New Mexico (62), New York (62), Pennsylvania (62), Montana (61) and
Arkansas (60).
The bottom, starting at the bottom: North Dakota (5), District of Columbia (6),
Missouri (10), Alaska (13), Vermont (13), Louisiana (16), Mississippi (17), Idaho (18), Oklahoma (18), Texas
(18) and South Carolina (19).

Notable geo observations:

Geographic breakdowns (by county or other division) are less common than summaries of spending by
program category. Twenty-seven states provide geographic information, often with interactive maps. 

Only three states—Kentucky, Maryland and Wisconsin—juxtapose the geographic distribution of
spending with patterns of economic distress or need within the state. 

Besides overall spending amounts, state residents may be interested to know where individual ARRA
projects such as the repaving of a road or repair of a school building are taking place. More than half the
states (28) now have some kind of project mapping feature on their ARRA site. 

- press release (pdf)
- DM podcast on previous report

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