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Filed under: Utilities, Social Software, Mobile

Check.in: finally, a unified check-in for Foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite

We've been writing an awful lot about the location wars on Download Squad lately. Gowalla, Foursquare, and the rest are exploding in popularity, and that means trendy, early-adopter types might have several different sites to check in with every time they go somewhere. Reporting your location to multiple sites is a usability nightmare, but it has a solution: unified check-in! A service called Check.in looks like it has the potential to be the holy grail of checking in, with support for Foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite.

Check.in was actually put together by Brightkite, which was one of the first checkin apps out of the gate. It has slipped out of the spotlight recently with the rise of more game-oriented location offerings, but Check.in should bring a little attention back Brightkite's way. "One checkin to rule them all" means there's no downside to trying out Brightkite if you're already on Foursquare or Gowalla, so it's a shrewd business move, as well as a useful product.

So far, the Check.in site (what a perfectly catchy name, by the way) doesn't have a launch date more specific than "coming soon." It does show both an iPhone and a Nexus One, though, so both iPhone and Android users can look forward to it.

Filed under: sxsw

DLS @ SXSW - Three views of SXSW


I ran into Guy Kawasaki, Jay Cuthrell and Nicholas Bonsack and asked them about their impressions of SXSW this year. Granted, Guy had just walked in the door... But Jay and Nicholas discuss a few panels they attended. Thanks guys!

Filed under: sxsw

DLS @ SXSW - Betwext


When TUAW went to Macworld, we had a chance to test Betwext, and I have to say it worked like a charm. Think SMS meets AIM and you get the idea: sign up on Betwext as a group and, when you text one number, it sends a text to a group with your name attached. It's easy and useful in certain cases. Yes, not in all cases, but for things like ad hoc group coordination when nothing but a text message will do, there's almost nothing like it. Jonathan Kressaty gives us the scoop on his latest project.

Filed under: sxsw

DLS @ SXSW - Genius, a marketing automation system

Genius appears to bridge the gap between CRM tools and online marketing efforts. Yes, it automates your push across various social networks and online services (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). It also focuses on generating demand and engagement, and tracking your efforts along with lead generation. What it boils down to is tracking conversations on these sites via trackable links. A novel approach to what is a widespread conundrum for businesses. I spoke to Parker Trewin about what Genius is all about in the video.

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Filed under: sxsw

DLS @ SXSW - Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.TV

I ran into Cali as she just hit the show floor so the only thing she'd seen that caught her eye was the OWLE bubo (covered here on TUAW). But she was shooting video of the floor as well that I'm sure will wind up on GeekBrief.TV. What's up with everyone showing up late to SXSW?

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DLS @ SXSW - SocialTALK

There are plenty of ways to spread your content around on social networks, but the tools are designed for individuals or, at best, can be hacked to work with small business needs. SocialTALK, by Syncapse, is a real business solution for companies needing to manage numerous networks for numerous brands. Instead of having a silo for each individual effort, SocialTALK allows access controls, ...

Free program lets you easily change wallpaper images on Windows 7 Starter

Whether you're a novice user or you know your operating system inside-out, chances are good that you like being able to personalize things a little. Changing sound schemes, placing icons on your desktop, changing your wallpaper -- that sort of thing. Unfortunately, that last tweak isn't possible if you're running Windows 7 Starter on a netbook. At least, it's not possible without a little ...

DLS @ SXSW - Social Toaster

There are quite a few social media plays at SXSW this year, and the name of the game is analytics. Once you go beyond the hype of social media, marketers who decide to use it for promotion need to know what the return on their investment will be. Social Toaster automates some of the work, and provides analytics to track how many people are actually finding and sharing your stuff online via the ...

DLS @ SXSW - How much for the wall?

Digital graffiti is all over SXSW 2010. This year the SXSW digital graffiti is in full force. Stickybits.com is handing out stickers with barcodes you can affix to any surface with corresponding media of your choosing tied to the barcode. These stickers are everywhere. Over the urinals. On random walls --- no rhyme or reason. The one behind me now has a photo taken from the couch inside the ...

Digg 2.0 almost ready for prime time: faster, less draconian

Late last night in Texas -- at the infamous and indefatigable SXSWi convention -- Digg's CEO Jay Adelson showed the world a new and revamped version of Digg. This overhaul, which has been five years in the making and the primary focus of the Digg team, will elicit a dramatic change in the slow, unwieldy and demagogic nature of the service. Along with the usual Web 2.0-esque streamlining ...
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Sushi Cat is an adorable, full-bellied Time Waster

Sushi Cat is one of the cutest Flash games I've ever run across. You play a blue cat with a major talent for eating and, fortunately for you, every level is filled with delicious sushi! The controls are simple: you aim and drop from the top of the screen using the mouse, trying to hit as much sushi as you can on the way down. Eat enough sushi, and you can go on to the next level. Your score depends on how much sushi you eat, and which bucket the cat lands in when it finally reaches the bottom of the screen. The more ...

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