The Localmind Blog

Localmind was a smash success at SXSW this year, and we have...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:03:34 -0400

Localmind users at the {SPA}CE spa!

@lennysan & @jedberg tearing up the RVIP

Show floor users!

We are enthusiastic about the .co TLD

Dynamic duo

Enthusiastic Expert

iPad = hotness

Localmind was a smash success at SXSW this year, and we have you, our friends and users, to thank. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Localmind is built on the assumption that people are good and that we are eager to help others when we can. Despite all the noise and insanity at SXSW, our users stopped to offer a helpful answer more than 700 times over the course of the past week, and that’s only around Downtown Austin! Seeing this warmed our hearts and reaffirmed that we’re truly onto something special here. Thank you!

Stay tuned for more exciting things from Team Localmind in the coming months …

(PS: Did you notice the new feature that shows you who has liked your answer? Check it out, and spread the love!)

Below are some of our favorite Localmind connections from SXSW — only a few of the 700 answers (for 500 questions that were asked — OMG — and one even had over 40 answers within an hour!) that we sent to users in Austin:

Localmind Rocking SXSW!

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:27:53 -0500

Team Localmind is on the ground in Austin for SXSW, and we’ve quickly learned why they call this “Geek Spring Break.” But despite the lightning and rain, the epic badge pickup lines, the lack of phone reception … we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!

Most exciting is the incredible activity we’re seeing through Localmind. The downtown Austin area is covered with Localmind users! There are very few places you can go without having a Localmind user already there. And the Q&A we’re seeing is incredible. Check out the screenshots below.

We’ll be here until Wednesday, so if you want to connect — we have cool stickers and t-shirts we want to give you! — just drop us a line at sxsw@localmind.com.

Localmind @ SXSW - The Party Comes To You!

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:48:00 -0500

We launched Localmind 1.0 one year ago at SXSW, and it went well. Since it’s such a special place for us, we knew we had to go back in force and do something awesome. We’re excited to announce two remarkable updates to Localmind launching at SXSW this year:

1. All Parties and Events Happening at SXSW - Live in Localmind!

Connect to people already at the party right from Localmind! Find out what’s going on inside, which have the shortest lines, and where the best drinks are. Now you can be at a thousand places at once.

How does it work? Simple. Open up Localmind, and look for the new teal markers. Those are events happening right now. Tap on the marker and ask your question. The question will go to Localmind users there right now, tapping into the real-time local community that has formed around Localmind. Omniscience, delivered.

2. Localmind has teamed up with the {RV}IP!

The {RV}IP Karaoke Lounge is the most amazing RV on Earth, roving around town delivering once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Localmind will be your best way to track the location of the {RV}IP day and night and find out what’s happening inside. It’s going to be a freaking blast!

(Open up the app during SXSW Interactive, and you’ll see the {RV}IP. You can’t miss it…)

Make sure to update Localmind on or after March 8th to see the new features. The entire Localmind team will be at SXSW, so if you’re going, let us know!

Localmind Stories: Tiago on Location-Based Learning

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:32:13 -0500

Some of the most interesting Localmind interactions in the most unlikely places. This story comes from Tiago:

I bet you never thought about using Localmind for discussing business strategies. Well, me neither … and yet that’s what happened to me last week.

A couple of hours after I checked in at the office on Friday (I work for IBM) a question popped up. I was expecting it to be from some visitor asking if there was an available wi-fi connection or looking for some tips around places to eat near by … but instead, the question was the following: “Why isn’t IBM producing personal computers anymore?”

It was really amusing to read (and answer) because it was a totally unexpected kind of question and a good example of how people find creative ways to merge things that are not usually matched (business issues with location-based services).

So what was the answer?

In case you have the same curiosity, the answer I provided was around the company decision to focus on value-added products/services, selling therefore its PC business to another company.

Funny fact: a colleague actually wondered if the question had been brought up by a competitor … but then I thought: this is public information anyway and, well, an IT player that still doesn’t have 7-year-old-information maybe isn’t that much of a threat. :-)

In brief: no meal suggestion or hidden purposes behind the question, just a pure and simple hunger for knowledge … that’s what I call a “location-based learning”!

Localmind: Satisfying the hunger for knowledge (via valued-added services) since 2010!

Localmind Stories: Tommy - Locals Finding New Places

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:57:00 -0500

San Francisco local Tommy Leep turned to Localmind on the go to help him and his friends quickly find the perfect breakfast spot:

Last Saturday morning, I took the 22 up to the Marina with a couple of friends. We were going to brunch. Thing was, we didn’t know where yet.

We just wanted to be at the top of the city so we could cruise by Chrissy Field and enjoy the sun. I fired up Localmind while on the bus. A few minutes later I got a recommendation from an expert in the area to try Baker Street Bistro. It’s a French cafe with patio seating, which was perfect for the weather.

The Eggs Copenhagen were delicious, and the service was great. Localmind for the just-in-time win!

A great day made greater with help from the helpful San Francisco Localmind community!

Localmind Stories: Francis - Where to Next?

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:05:00 -0500

While out at dinner with his fiancée in Montreal, Francis turned to Localmind figure out where to go next:

My fiancée and I were out for a night in Downtown Montreal. Having been out of the trendy clubs and places for years now (4 kids!), we had no idea where to go. During supper, I sent out a question asking for the best lounge/bar in Old Montreal, and we got 3 solid answers within 30 minutes. So after we finished eating we headed out to a lounge that was just around the corner (and had been recommended twice via Localmind). We ended up having a great evening at l’Assommoir (they serve awesome drinks, over 250!) which I’m positive we wouldn’t have tried if it weren’t for Localmind!

We hope your fiancée was impressed!

Meet Potsie, The Newest Member of Team Localmind!

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:02:05 -0500

[picture]

Great companies are made up of great people. Finding those great people is hard. Very hard. Sometimes however, serendipity is on your side. A couple of months ago we bumped into Potsie at a hackathon she was participating in here in San Francisco, while we were both getting snacks during a break. From that first meeting, to the interview, to the final interview … we had a strong feeling that we found our fifth employee. Potsie is an insanely talented designer, has shipped her own iOS apps, and has a strange knack for winning hackathons. We’re extremely lucky to have her joining our team, and are excited to put another key puzzle piece in place as we continue making Localmind the most useful app you have on your phone.

Meet Potsie, The Newest Member of Team Localmind!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:54:39 -0500

Great companies are made up of great people. Finding those great people is hard. Very hard. Sometimes however, serendipity is on your side. A couple of months ago we bumped into Potsie at a hackathon she was participating in here in San Francisco (while we were both loading up on snacks). From that first meeting, to the interview, to the final interview … we had a strong feeling that we found our fifth employee.

Potsie is an insanely talented designer, has shipped her own iOS apps, and has a strange knack for winning hackathons. We’re extremely lucky to have her joining our team, and are excited to put another key puzzle piece in place as we continue making Localmind the most useful app you have on your phone.

Three interesting things about Potsie:

She can’t go on the Bay Bridge (afraid of heights)
Her favorite people are 2 feet tall (her niece and nephew)
She loves Los Angeles (blasphemy here in SF)

Meet the New Localmind

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:00:05 -0500

The biggest update in Localmind history is here! Watch this short demo while trying to keep your jaw from dropping:

What’s New?

Up to now you’ve used Localmind to ask real-time questions about particular places. Localmind 2.0 takes this to a whole new level, unlocking the power to get answers about entire parts of town. By tapping into the collective local knowledge of identified experts, Localmind helps you find out anything you want to know about any place in the world.

You can now use Localmind to help you plan your Friday night, learn about the best places to eat when traveling, or find the most scenic hiking trail in your city.

Have a question about an area? Ask Localmind!

Under the Hood

Behind the shiny exterior lies a bevy of sophisticated reputation and expertise algorithms that route your question in real-time to the local experts most likely to give you the best answer. We’ve spent the past year developing these algorithms while methodically building the platform to prepare for this 2.0 release. Look for future blog posts describing the science in much more detail.

Who Answers My Questions?

Short answer:

Other users just like you!

Long answer:

Localmind is built on the assumption that we all know things that other people find useful, particularly about the places and parts of town we frequent. Every time you answer a question about an area or check in at a place, Localmind learns a bit more about your implicit knowledge. The more knowledge you accrue in an area, the more reputation and expertise Localmind awards you for it. When other users have questions about those areas, Localmind may send them to you, the local expert, and give you the opportunity to respond. Over time, Localmind learns what types of questions you’re interested in answering, and stops sending you those that you don’t.

To see where Localmind has recognized you as an expert, check out the “Me” tab. While there, you can now update your profile photo, add a short bio, and more!

We’re extremely excited to be releasing this today, and can’t wait to hear what you think. Let us know by emailing us at feedback@localmind.com, or leaving a comment below.

Download Localmind 2.0 here!

Meet Nick, Our New Intern!

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:00:05 -0500

Localmind for Android users, meet your new best friend:

Nick hails from the wondrous lands of Vancouver, British Columbia where he studies Computer Engineering at The University of British Columbia. His degree program sets aside time to work at a company of his choosing, and, lucky for us, we snagged him. Since moving to San Francisco just last week, he’s been hard at work on the Localmind Android app. Nick is a passionate Android enthusiast and developer, so his #1 focus will be forging an app to make us proud. (His #2 focus will be trying to learn the ways of wacky Americans.) He’s already hard at work. We expect big things from Nick and are super excited to have him on the team!

Three interesting things about Nick:

He’s a golfer
He builds robots for fun
His first visit to California was the day he moved here to work for Localmind!

P.S. A big THANK YOU to Atlee, David, and Michael at the C100 for helping us find Nick!

Localmind Stories: Dave in Kelowna

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:15:51 -0500

Dave Olson found a perfect opportunity to use Localmind in Kelowna, British Colombia to save hours on his commute:

“I’ve been a LocalMind user for a while but mostly just answering questions and checking in. However, I recently had an opportunity to experience the real power behind Localmind. A collapsing overpass, resulted in brutally slow bridge traffic between Kelowna and West Kelowna. I had tried earlier in the afternoon to get across the bridge but it took me nearly an hour to go one block and I still wasn’t near the bridge so I gave up and went home. I tried without success to get some updated information by googling and checking the local news and twitter feeds but then I remembered Localmind. I quickly found a user who had checked in on the bridge within the past hour and asked what the traffic was like. He gave me great feedback and even pointed out that the left lane seemed to be moving quicker than the right lane. So based on his information, I headed back across the bridge and took the left lane. It only took me 40 minutes to get across although I had from others that it had taken up to 3.5 hours to cross the bridge. Without the time-sensitive feedback from a Localmind user I would not have been able to time my trip to beat the traffic.”

Thanks Dave! There’s nothing like getting the real scoop on what traffic is like from people stuck in that traffic right now.

Black Friday with Localmind

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:06:05 -0500

Black Friday has come and gone. Through the crowds, empty shelves, and stressed nerves, Localmind was there. Hundreds of eager shoppers used Localmind to figure out where to go, what to avoid, and when to call it a night.

For this momentous festival of commerce, we ran a contest looking for the best answers to questions sent that day. We were blown away by the response! The winners of the contest have been contacted. If you haven’t been contacted, better luck next time, and hang tight for more contests in the future.

Check out some of our favorite responses throughout the day below. Enjoy!

Apple Stores were always big draws:

If you weren’t there at midnight, you usually missed out on the big-ticket items:

Simple things can yield the biggest rewards:

Leave the kids at home! Black Friday is a war zone:

Or maybe it’s not even worth leaving the house?

But there were bright spots:

Even indie shops went all out:

Gross:

And we close with some sage advice:

Thank you again to all our contestants!

Win Prizes on Black Friday with Localmind!

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:36:29 -0500

Avoid the lines, save time, and win an iPad®!

Use Localmind to find the shortest lines and the best deals around town. As a special promotion for Black Friday, when you check in and answer any question this coming Friday, you will become eligble to win fabulous prizes. Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up

If haven’t already, grab the Localmind app and sign up. No iOS device? That’s OK! See below.

2. Connect Foursquare®

Connect your Foursquare account to Localmind (under Profile/Settings).

3. Check in

Check in with Foursquare anywhere you shop on Black Friday (11/25/2011).

4. Answer and Win!

The best answers on Black Friday win!

The holidays can get busy. Localmind is here to help.

Use Localmind to find the shortest lines, locate the hard-to-get items on your shopping list, route around traffic, and participate in the holiday fun in your community. This contest is just an example! We’ll be paying attention to all the creative ways people use Localmind this season, and the best ones will go on our blog.

On Friday, check out all the Black Friday activity at http://www.localmind.com/blackfriday2011:

The rules:

We’ve giving away an iPad 2, an iPod Touch, and a $50 Apple gift certificate for the three best answers to Localmind questions on Black Friday 2011 (11/25/2011).
Answer as many questions as you like, but you are only eligible to win one prize.
You must share the answer on Twitter (tap the Twitter icon before submitting your answer).
Answers will be judged on: creativity, quality of the answer (a photo attached to the answer is highly encouraged!), how quickly the answer is received, and how many times other Twitter users re-tweet your answer.
If you do not have an iPhone, or do not receive a question, simply tweet a photo of a crowd with a mention of “@Localmind” and “#blackfriday” to enter the contest.
Entries will be judged by their creativity and how well they capture the frenzy of Black Friday, so writing a Perl script to sign up a thousand Foursquare and Localmind accounts will not increase your chance of winning. (Localmind likes the way you think, though; have you perused our jobs page lately?)
Apple® is not a participant in or sponsor of this promotion. iPad® and iPod touch® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
Complete contest rules can be found here.

Happy Holidays from Team Localmind, and good luck!

Meet the New Localmind

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:27:00 -0500

You told us what you wanted, and we’re delivering!

Download the latest version of Localmind iOS, hot off the presses. This is only the first in a series of releases that bring together everything we’ve heard from you since the day we launched Localmind. Stay tuned for a lot more over the next couple of months. Seriously. When you see where we’re going, we know you’ll be as excited as we are.

You want answers?

The new Localmind has a brand new tab dedicated to just that: Answers. We heard that you want answers, but don’t always want to ask a question. This new tab allows you to browse answers to questions asked in your neighborhood or anywhere else around the world, simply by panning and zooming the map.

Looking for the best shopping downtown? Move the map to downtown, select “Shops,” and see answers instantly. Looking for outdoor fun in SF? Move the map to cover SF, select “Parks & Outdoors,” and see what local experts are suggesting. We’re planning to do a lot more with this tab, so stay tuned.

You want to know more about experts?

We heard that you found Localmind experts around your city extremely helpful, but you wanted to know more about who these experts were. We (inadvertantly) did a great job hiding this information in previous releases. No more! Tap on a venue to see who has leveled up to a Localmind Expert there. Get a sense of who will be receiving your question if you were to ask about that venue. Learn more about your local community, and find people with similar interests.

You want to know why you got a question?

Ever get a Localmind question, and wonder why you got it? Not any more. From now on, every time you receive a question, we’ll explain why Localmind determined you were the most likely user to give a good answer. We’re starting very simple here, but we plan to give you more and more control over what kind of questions you want to answer.

There’s more? Yes!

Privacy controls: Show your profile to other Localmind users only when you want to
Improved performance: Major improvements! The app will be much snappier, especially the map
Refreshed interface: A brighter, happier, look
If you’ve read this far down: See if anything happens if you shake the map a few times …

This is only the first step in series of very cool releases. We have some extremely exciting things coming, many of which have been a long time in the making. We’re so excited about all of the things that are finally coming together, and we can’t wait to show them to you. That’s all we can say for now, so stay tuned!

Localmind Stories: Tracy at Trader Joe's

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:26:19 -0500

Tracy Lee, founder and CEO of the scrumptious Dishcrawl, recounts her recent chocolatey experience with Localmind at Trader Joe’s:

It’s that time of season when I crave holiday sweets. I was daydreaming of those chocolate calendars at Trader Joe’s, and I opened Localmind to see if anyone knew if they were there. I got two responses, including one from my friend @marshmelones! I didn’t even know she was on Localmind! Localmind saved me a good hour of driving to TJ’s to see if my precious chocolate calendars were there. :)

That’s one less hour driving and one more hour with that sweet, sweet chocolate.

Is Localmind Under the Radar?

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:41:47 -0500

Not for long!

We’ve been asked to present at the upcoming Under the Radar conference (in Mountain View on Nov 10th), where we’ll be a part of the Fast Pitch session.

How we expect it to go

We’re big fans of Under the Radar, and of the incomparable Debbie Landa who founded the conference. We’re honored to be a part of it this year, and we can’t wait to spread the word that is Localmind.

We've Moved! Localmind HQ Now in the Heart of SoMa.

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:59:57 -0400

It’s been just over 3 months since we picked up and moved Localmind HQ from Montreal to San Francisco. Being new to San Francisco, we knew we wanted to find an office to share with other startups and to get connected to the scene quickly. We searched around for a coworking space (interesting factoid: coworking was invented by Montreal native Tara Hunt!) and were lucky to come across the one and only RocketSpace.

The happy white board that greeted us every morning

Nathan (from Weddingful) is not amused about us moving

We have been there ever since … until today! We were recently introduced to the folks at Relevvant, who happened to have some extra space they made available for up-and-coming startups, so we decided to make the move. We’re now located at 300 Brannan St., right across the street from the esteemed 21st Amendment, and next door to the impossibly delicious American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. God help us.

Beau and Nelson grabbing their stuff on the way to the new office

Never too many massive monitors

Our new offices

And … not much has changed

We’ll miss the friends we made at RocketSpace, like Weddingful, Ethical Ocean, The Fabler, Youneeq, Atlee Clark, Michael Wozniak, Jen, Audrey, Duncan, and the rest of the 1st floor crew.

If you’re ever near 2nd & Brannan, or want to check out our new digs for no reason in particular, just hit us up!

Localmind Stories: Mark at LAX

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:22:51 -0400

Localmind user Mark shares his recent Localmind story with us:

Well, the Virgin American terminal at LAX is hit and miss. At times it’s moderately busy, and at other times (usually later in the evening, when a V Australia flight to.. well.. Australia is expected), it looks like a stranded airport with people laying around on backpacks and sharing jackets for makeshift blankets.

So about 35 minutes before arrival, I loaded up Localmind on my iPad2 on my wifi-equipped Virgin America flight, identified a passenger at the Virgin terminal and asked them what sort of “busy” I could expect. That person responded that it wasn’t super bad, so I was able to send a quick message to my parking facility as to when to expect both my arrival ramp side and when to get my car ready. This sounds trivial to anyone who doesn’t travel through LAX often, but anyone who DOES knows that the LAX horseshoe can take almost 15 minutes to clear in the 9 o’clock hour.

Localmind saved me about 35 minutes with just a little bit of live information about something that could never be monitored without another human’s feedback. By simply connecting humans in a safe, yet direct manner, Localmind has tapped effectively in to the already-existing social universe to share information in ways that actually matter.

Thanks Mark for sharing your story!

Why the look of shock and the world’s freakiest trophy in...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:15:00 -0400

Why the look of shock and the world’s freakiest trophy in Lenny’s hand? Because we took home first place at the Location and Beyond Summit 2011! Huzzah!

“Congratulation to Localmind for having been chosen for an Investor’s Choice award by an esteemed panel of venture capitalists at the Locations & Beyond Summit, attended by top global location industry decision makers,” said Kanwar Chadha, chief marketing officer and board member of CSR and founder of SiRF. “Localmind clearly demonstrated the benefits of using a real-time, location-based question and answer platform to enhance the daily experiences of individuals, and it represents one of the most cutting-edge location-aware solutions.”

Location & Beyond Summit 2011 - We Be Pitching!

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:00:05 -0400

Starting off November with a bang, we’ll be pitching at the Location & Beyond Summit 2011 on November 1st, along with some other exciting location-based companies like Sonar and Grabio. See you there!