Monday, May 26th, 2008

A few weeks ago I decided to give Brightkite a try, and had a mixed experience with it. What is Brightkite, you ask? It’s another social-networking type service, very similar to Twitter and Pownce that focuses on small ‘micro-posts’ that your friends can subscribe to. One of the things that make Brightkite different is the fact that it focuses on your location, not just your friends. Using either the web or the mobile application, you can enter in where you are currently located, and see what folks around you are doing. For example, here is the ‘placemark’ for Times Square in NYC.

One of the major plusses is the ability to quickly post a photo to the service, and say ‘this photo is from ________’. All too often, with a photo-equipped, email-enabled phone, you see something you want to photograph and share with your friends, and Brightkite definitely makes that possible. Word is an iPhone application is on it’s way that will plug into the Google Maps triangulation feature iPhones have - that will make ‘checking in’ to locations, and posting geo-tagged photos a lot easier. I’d really be pleased if there were a way to post photos to Flickr automatically as well, but that may or may not be in the works.

I think Brightkite is certainly a neat idea, especially if you make sure to apply the proper privacy settings (you can set levels of privacy based on whether you ‘trust’ a friend or not to know your exact location, just the city you’re in, or just to read the post you’ve made). Of course, the fact that most of my friends do not use this service make it’s usefulness a bit less than someone whose friends were the social-networked, mobile-app using types. When it’s just you and maybe 2 or 3 other folks broadcasting their location and photos/posts from that area, it quickly loses steam. At least Brightkite allows you to also send your posts to Twitter when you make an update - that’s definitely a nice touch.

While I really like the interface of Brightkite (much more than Twitter or Pownce), content is king. As long as everyone I know is using Twitter, I can’t really justify moving over to another service just because it has a slightly nicer interface and offers some neat location-based stuff. What I really hope happens is that Twitter borrows some of the ideas from Brightkite and implements them (on an optional basis) into their service.

Anyway, if you’re looking to give the service a try, either post a comment here or drop me a line and I can send you an invite.

Here’s my profile.

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Posted on May 26th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

I must own this shirt.

If you have’nt seen this video, or the (surprisingly catchy) dance remix, do yourself a favor and jump in now.

Posted on May 21st, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Posted on May 14th, 2008 | No Comments »

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

At some point over the past year or so, I have noticed signs along Georgia 400 that say ‘Hospitality Highway’. At first, I thought this was some sort of program established for highway cleanup, but I could never be sure. A few weeks ago, Michelle noticed another one of the signs, so I looked up “Hospitality Highway via Google. Boy, I was in for a treat.

Georgia 400 is henceforth to be known as the Hospitality Highway, a corridor of highway stretching from Atlanta up to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Apparently, the site of my daily commute is more than just a road to some — it’s a marketing opportunity, and one that should be exploited to the greatest amount possible.

For example, I direct you to the suggested itinerary section of the site. It’s here that you can learn how to fully explore the quaint southern charm of suburban Roswell, Alpharetta, and Cumming. The activities outlined in this section are laughable to any local North Fulton resident, but that doesn’t stop the writers of this site. Part of Day 4’s schedule includes:

Rise and shine! Get your motor running with a complimentary breakfast—offered at many of the Alpharetta hotels. Then drop by the Alpharetta Welcome Center in the heart of downtown for a glimpse into the charm and vitality of the city. Pick up a local Calendar of Events to find out what’s happening in town. The Welcome Center is the best source of information on nearly all that the area has to offer.

Spend the morning at the Honda Rider Education Center where you can take beginning, intermediate or advanced courses for street or dirt bikes on Honda’s own courses. Be sure to register for this popular experience beforehand.

How charming!

The tour takes you all the way from the north end of the highway strip, down towards the toll road in Buckhead. And it’s chock-full of corny things to see and do around town. I just want to remind everyone that the GA 400 corridor is simply suburbia. Tons of it. There is nothing ’southern’ or ‘fascinating’ about 30 minutes of traffic no matter where you want to go, a Publix on every single corner, and a Starbucks every quarter mile.

So if anyone asks you how to get to Alpharetta, just tell them to take the Hospitality Highway — but don’t forget to stop along the way and make a memory that will last a lifetime!

Posted on May 1st, 2008 | 2 Comments »