GISnation Launches

You may have seen its pre-launch tweets, posts on Facebook and elsewhere but now this new social network is live. This morning I asked for its elevator pitch. Here it is:

Google+ to Get Checkins, Deals and other LBS News

The Google+ social network may be adding features to its mobile app that will allow users to claim deals when they check in at locations, according to a Google support document.

Google confirms its expected to launch next week. Yawn.

- VentureBeat

Nokia Pulse: Multimedia Check-In/Communications

Pulse, still in Nokia Beta Labs, aims to be a "one click" soution to share and archive all the relevant data of a mobile conversation. The example in the video below is not all that compelling: Mom at kid's soccer game, captures daughter scoring on video, shares with Dad, plans celebration over pizze, sends Dad map. It's very private and apparently stores all the data for each Pulse "conversation." Like many in the YouTube stream comments, I'm not sure I get it. 

via Tnooz

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Evangelizing the “Pillars of a Changing Computing Environment” #comgeo

Dan Kasun, the senior director of Developer and Platform Evangelism for Microsoft's U.S. Public Sector described the trends that are changing computing. I thought it was a succinct way of describing the disruption taking place today that encompasses, cloud, mobile and social media. Kasun shared his three pillars this way:

• Near limitless resources
  • Cloud computing is creating economies of scale with up to 80% reduction in IT costs; e.g. Microsoft's Chicago data center is a 700,000 square foot facility that is managed by 35 people.
  • He sees that cloud computing's new business model is an agent that will spur economic growth.
• Ubiquitous computing
  • Broadband networking has created inexpensive and low infrastructure costs.
  • In a populated society, sensors are everywhere (and eventually many of these sensors will be connected to the network)
  • Gartner is predicting that by year end 2012, physical sensors will create 20% of non-video internet traffic" (i.e. temperature,  air flow, humidity, navigation, sound,  pressure, vibration … all tied to a location)
• Natural "human" interfaces
  • Socialization is everywhere and communications have been molded to allow consistent interaction.

Kasun used an example that Microsoft has created call Eye On Earth, a mapping application of European sensor locations that display the status of air and water conditions. But the platform also allows users to rate the status of any place using social media to update the status of the environment with certain rating factors (dirty, clean,  etc.). Kasun believes that this platform is a good example of mixing cloud technology with social media and human interaction.

LBS Tidbits - 5/11/11

"Blu, the maker of electronic cigarettes, has developed sensors that will let users know when other e-smokers are nearby," thus creating a location-based social network for smokers.

- NY Times

RoadAhead (iTunes) does not route you to your final destination, but finds that unique combo of services you need along the route (gas/playground/k-mart) without taking you too far of the track.

- C|net

UK teens it seems don't care much about location-based social services.

- GPS Biz News

- social media release (nope, no press release)