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Jan 5
"Check-in" application/game roundup
A primer: These applications basically encourage you to log the places you visit. They do this by making a game out of it.
The contenders: Gowalla, foursquare, MyTown, and flook.
I started with foursquare, then found gowalla, MyTown (thanks to @ravenme) and flook (thanks to @not_ratched). After weeks and months (depending on the application) of use, I find myself caring most about Gowalla and MyTown.
foursquare and Gowalla are very similar, but foursquare makes it kind of a pain to add new venues. Their latest version is an improvement, but Gowalla really has made this process the most intuitive. Still, foursquare has its appeal. There's something about it that has kept me from deleting it thus far (it could be the "must unlock badge, must become mayor" thing).
There's no guaranteed reward in Gowalla, which makes it less cool if you're the type of person who uses the positive reinforcement to stay motivated to get out 'n' about. When you check into a location, you may find an item. You can pick up that item and hang onto it or vault it. I'm not really sure of the mechanics, to be honest. It's nicely designed and fun, and that's about all I know about it. My only complaint is that a stamp is not found at every venue. I don't *need* the positive reinforcement to stay motivated to play, but I wouldn't mind it.
Poor flook. I really wanted to like it. Their take on this genre is a little different from the others. flook essentially wants to be a crowdsourced travel guide. When you visit a worthwhile place, you can take a photo of it and create a flook card. The idea is that if enough people work together to create cool cards, you can easily find interesting sights to see when you visit a new place or are out 'n' about in your own neighbourhood. Conceptually, it's fantastic. The problem is that participating isn't fun, it feels like a chore. The process isn't difficult, but it's a bit cumbersome. Further, the quality of existing cards is pretty sad. For example, it seems that someone local to me has piped their Flickr photostream into the application. Consequently, I can scroll through my "what's near me?" cards and see a photo of a motorcycle. Like, what? How is this a cool thing to see in the neighbourhood? It just doesn't make any sense. In addition to user-contributed content, flook displays local events from Yahoo's Upcoming service. This is actually kind of nifty, except that these cards dominate my stream which is a bit irritating. I don't like to say it, but I think this application will be getting deleted soon.
Usurping Gowalla's "my favourite" throne is MyTown. In its previous life, this application was called Booyah Society. It was cute, but it wasn't a lot of fun. In this new incarnation, the folks behind MyTown have got it right. They have created a real-life Monopoly game, of sorts. When I check in somewhere, I can "buy" the property if it's available. It starts as a 1-star property and I can upgrade it over time (depending on level and available funds). From then on, I can collect "rent" on that property from visitors. Speaking of leveling up, you begin MyTown with an avatar. You get points and money for checking into places. With points you level up and with money you buy things like property and upgrades. When you level up, you earn the ability to buy another property along with the ability (depending on current level) to upgrade existing properties. There are also power-ups that can be applied to your next checkin to get more points /cash. This is *the* most addictive game of its type, thus far.
MyTown easter eggs I've found:
- Tap your avatar once
- Now tap your avatar four times
- Flick your avatar left or right
Comments [4]
Dec 25
Happy raisins!
I have made enough new friends this year who don't know "the story" that it's time to tell it again. If you've heard it already, sorry, it won't take long.
The story behind "Happy raisins!" is this: When I was a wee thing, I used to say "kishmish" instead of Christmas. "kishmish" is the Hindi word for "raisins." So, ya. Happy raisins.
Speaking of raisi—er, I mean Christmas, look what I got!
In case you don't know, this is incredibly cool. Thank you!
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Dec 21
I need boots
Makeshift "boots" so I could leave the house today! (Yes, that's a garbage bag and a rubberband.)
Filed under //
fml
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Nov 27
I dare you not to "Aww…"
Turns out there’s a Spanish tradition I like quite a bit: when a couple get engaged, the woman is given a ring from the man, and the man is given a watch from the woman. These days, it turns out, the watches are something ridiculous: a Rolex or a Patek Philippe or something a bit too… much. Sometimes, however, you can meet a girl who is unlike anyone you’ve ever met, is stunningly gorgeous inside and out and is as unbelievably valuable to you as anyone that’s ever existed. The kind of girl, it turns out, you intend to keep. And that particular girl can find the most special, pocket watch she can imagine, walk you out on a cold November night in London out to Primrose Hill (a special place), sit you down on a bench, hand you that very pocket watch, and ask you to marry her.
I said Yes.
*sniff* What. I'm *sniff* fine.
Comments [1]
Nov 12
It's all about the fizzy
“I just like the bubbles.”
Now this is a man who gets it. I would like to live in his shoppe.
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