#qaikusourcing

I'm involved in arranging Spot On - Locative Media And Storytelling - seminar at Aalto Media Factory on Thursday. (Last day to register is today https://www.webropol.com/P.aspx?id=45... ).

I'm writing some questions to discuss during lunch.
http://spotonlocativemedia.posterous....

These are intended to spur discussion at the event but why not give them a try here at Qaiku.
Here goes
1. What has been your best location service experience so far?
Where? How did it make your day better?
2. What new service (possibly using location some way) would make
the world a better place - what would you like to see someone do for
mobile users, even if you don't see a business model there yet?
3. What has been your worst location service experience so far?
Where? What went wrong?
4. Of all the existing apps using maps; both media arts projects
and actual real location-based services you have tried or heard of so
far, which ones have been most interesting? Why?
5. Are there user segments that you think are not going to ever use services based on location technologies? Why?
6. What situations can you imagine for browsing media content based
on where it is, or based on where you are? What kinds of media content
might you be looking for when on the move?
7. If you have been involved in planning and implementing
location-based content concepts, what are the practical problems you
have faced? Do you have solutions to share?

8. What else should I be asking?

Ping @ubiq @Ile @Hessuj @annerongas

@Tuija I'll answer to your questions shortly. But two comments first: You might want to change the language tab to English. Also, if your questions were numbered, it would be easier to refer to them in the answers.

Best - so far I say as I'm not regularly active on LBS - is to get a comment from the Southern Hemisphere on my photos like is this the place i saw your were in 4SQ. LBS is a way to be more present. What I mean that I don't utilize all possibilities is that I know there already are svcs like whrrl where you can add photos... Sometimes I feel like LBS make real life SL or which way it was.

The worst is that I studied LBS as a part of my mandatory B.Sc. courses in 2006. None whatsoever re. social (media) was mentioned. We were playing with maps only and didn't get a clue why we actually need the competence. The Uni advertized itself during that time as LBS connoisseur... Institutional learning has a bad backlog.

@touqo Done, thanks!

1) Installing Google Maps to Nokia E71. I did it while waiting for the traffic lights to go green i.e. it was fast and efficient.
2) Highly context-aware service which would really know my needs and tastes and alert me about nearby things (such as my friends, lunch menus, and discounts).
3) Expensive roaming is the worst thing regarding LBSs. I do not want to use data services abroad, because it is so expensive. And abroad is where I'd really need them!
4) Foursquare is on its way there. Interesting to see them starting to integrate mobile coupon functionalities. Also the sports/wellbeing apps have a lot of potential.
5) No I do not think these are segment-specific. Of course the nerds will lead the way, but that is not specific to LBSs.
6) Tourism both in places known and unknown to me. Filling idle time. Info about interesting things going on around me at the time or the very near future would interest me. And here the system really knowing my profile and preferences would be essential.
7) I was but back then the problems were mostly technical (e.g. GPS receiver was not in the phone but a separate box communicatin with the phone over BT - caused a lot of problems and ate up the battery).
8) More about the business models and opportunities.

@touqo @ConnectIrmeli Thank you guys! Who's next?

Ending up having beer with interesting people thanks to Dopplr. Though my buscatcher for N900 rocks too :-)

@bergie Tell me more: so you actually used Dopplr to announce a visit to a place and met an acquaintance because of it? Can you give any more details?

My own experience of business travel (if not extended lately) is that there is very little time to use, and what little free time there is, feels too valuable to announce publicly (well, for the network). I can see though that surprise encounters could add value to a trip.

And: what does your buscatcher do for you?

Nokia Maps for N900 is the worst experience. I used it for mere navigation. First it calculated a stupid and wrong route, when I deviated, it did not recalculate. I found the place myself, but the navigation was horrible.

The best experience is calling a friend, trying to find out where he is and after a vague explanation: "Could you friend me on Latitude". After that X marks the spot.

sorry coming to this thread a bit late, but here are some semi-random thoughts/answers

1. Via Dopplr, an recent aquantance noticed that I would be in Amsterdam for a couple of days, and sent an email. This resulted in a nice evening out and strengthened a connection.

2. An app that constantly monitored your location and then produced something similar to /inspired by the Felton Report(s?) (the Dopplr Annual report did this).

3. Anytime using Ovi Maps on the N900.
* it has such promise, but consitently falls short
* Takes ages to start-up, and once open, still takes a while to respond (this is a problem, as most common use case for me is when slightly lost and running a bit late!)
* search is an "on-line" tool, meaning it does not work when roaming.

4. Nothing really stands out, yet
The "make a shape" ones are kind of cool, but have limited appeal.
Gowalla is sort of the least bad so far. Rewards comntinuious use, does not relie on a social graph to be useful (so can be used in a sort of "single player" mode)
The rest, all about the same.

5. There are some real privacy and security concerns that need to be solved before the services will get mass adoption (especially amongst women & young adults!)
The Jaiku idea of reporting location accurate to a region/suburb, seems to be the best compromise. I suspect that all of the current LBS apps/services/tools seem to have been created by Standard-Geeks (i.e. Young(ish) + WASP(ish) + Males), who (mostly) have no problem or thoughts around security and privacy with regard to location.

6. Due to the potentially high cost (especially when roaming), or flaky networks (pretty much anywhere outside the Nordics), I think anything to do with Multi-media should be regarded of as more of a "side-loading" (via WiFi or PC) activity for the next 2-5 years.
The Augmented reality stuff, like the point & find(?) service have some interest. Useful when you have friends visiting you and they ask "what's that building?" and "what is happening over there?", and a short text description would help.

8. Is GPS dead for city/town location?
Between Cell tower & WiFi positioning, you get a faster more accurate location.
Can the Check-In model suceed for mainstream adoption?