GeoGraffiti is accessible from any phone by calling (213) 221-3802, as an app for the iPhone3G, and via our Google Map mashup.

[Todd is a tourism host and consultant and runs the Northern Edge Algonquin retreat.  The full length GeoGraffiti podcast and Todd’s other podcasts can be heard on Todd’s blog.  Thanks for reviewing us Todd; someday we hope to have the time and resources to visit your retreat facility up in Ontario … if Google acquires GeoGraffiti :) ]

Voice Mark the World,

The GeoGraffiti Monkeys

Although the iPhone3G makes Voice Marking a location or retrieving and listening to other’s Voice Marks an extremely easy mobile user experience, we created GeoGraffiti to be phone and wireless carrier agnostic.  GeoGraffiti can be used on any phone while out-n-about by freely calling the GeoGraffiti voice platform at (213) 221-3802.  And of course if you are in front of a desktop, our Google map mashup is available at

http://www.geograffiti.com/gu/SearchMap.html

Keep the suggestions and Voice Marks coming!

Be heard and Voice Mark the World,

The GeoG Monkeys

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/6/prweb1038134.htm

Also, we have added another way for users to designate their location (for phones without GPS capabilities).  The new feature gives the user the option to enter a location’s phone number (previously only zip code).  GeoGraffiti will look up the address of the location based on this phone number and geotag it accordingly.  A phone number can be used to designate a location for searching Voice Marks, or used to publish a Voice Mark about a particular location.  Since we correlate the phone number to an exact address, it is more accurate than using the general area zip code.

Finally, we will be a sponsor at the Twiistup 4 event in Santa Monica, CA on July 17th.  It is currently a sold out event, but if you are luckly enough to be attending, please stop by our booth to check out our latest demo.  Not only will we be giving away some fun gifts, but we’ll be demoing an exciting new feature and announcing an upcoming ’Best Voice Marker’ contest to win a new Jawbone bluetooth headset.  We have one spare ticket to the Twiistup event, so if you are interested in going please contact us - the first request will get this free attendee ticket.

We are working hard to bring new and useful features to GeoGraffiti.  The location-specific voice platform was built for you the people and like all platforms dependant on community generated content, it will become more valuable as more content is added.  So please take a minute and Voice Mark your hood with your opinions or advice!

Cheers

If I personally have not explained what GeoGraffiti is, it may be a bit confusing at first. What you need is your computer and your mobile/cell phone…soooo go grab it if you don’t have it on you.

The main page is at www.geograffiti.com To register you can click on the Login button on the top right-hand corner of your screen. There are 2 ways to register. If you have a Facebook account, you can sign in through Facebook by clicking on the Facebook icon. If you don’t have a Facebook account you can register with GeoGraffiti by clicking on the Register link. What’s the difference? Not much. With Facebook sign-in you don’t have to remember yet another password and we offer some basic integration with your Facebook account. You and your friends will receive messages on the news feed and mini-feed about the stuff you publish on GeoGraffiti. Aside from that, nothing else is different.

Before you sign up, watch this video to get the basic gist of what GeoGraffiti is. I warn you, it’s a bit long, but worth your time since this concept is new and hasn’t been seen before.

Ok. so after you register, you will be asked to verify your phone number so have that phone handy. GeoGraffiti will call you and give you a code that you enter on the site. Once the phone number is verified, you can continue and you’ll be taken to the map. Click down into the area you want to search for Voice Marks in. Right now all Voice Marks are in the Los Angeles area, but you can add them anywhere you want. Having trouble deciding what to contribute? Why not search for your favorite restaurant, bar, or club and say a few words on why it’s cool and unique. Maybe suggest the best hostess or drink to order. Seeee that wasn’t so hard! Feel free to browse, forward, and respond to other Voice Marks, etc.

Will my phone number be made available to the public?

Absolutely not! We ask for your phone number for internal reasons so our system can associate the Voice Marks you create with your GeoGraffiti user nickname. If you choose to activate the advanced notification preference, GeoGraffiti will call you or SMS a notification to your phone when somebody publishes a response to one of your Voice Marks, but this is an optional setting that is not active by default. To be clear, your number will never be seen or revealed to the public.

How do I get my Facebook news and mini feed stories to work?

First make sure you are signed in to Facebook and then click on this link http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=3344130540&ref=mf to install the application and register with GeoGraffiti. If you click on the GeoG application in your side bar, you may experience an error. We don’t know why Facebook is doing this yet…we’ll figure it out. For now, just click again and it should work. When you start the GeoGraffiti app in fb, we take you to the GeoGraffiti.com site since the fb canvas size isn’t big enough to support our google map-mashup, but all your Voice Marks will appear in your fb news feed so you can keep track of who is leaving new Voice Marks.

So what should I do after I create Voice Marks?

Because we released this yesterday, there isn’t a lot of content on there. We want to encourage everyone to make this work as a community much like the Wikipedia or Yahoo!Answers. The content will get better as time goes by and more users sign up. Please email info@geograffiti.com with your feedback and suggestions. We want to work hard to make GeoGraffiti work for you so send everything you can :).

Parting Words

Keep in mind that this is a new beta service so don’t go out and have a milllion people sign up…you’ll kill us :). We will adjust as the traffic and users grow to accommodate the load. Feel free to forward the link to a FFFEEEWWWWW of your friends…not your entire entourage…especially if you roll 1000 deep :).

Thanks for helping out! We really appreciate it!

Cheers,

The GeoGraffiti Chief Tech Monkey

As I review GeoGraffiti’s bug report and feature list accumulated over the past year, I find it hard to believe we solved all the minutia involved in creating GG. But I’m sure we missed something, probably lots of something … so we look forward to your comments, suggestions and critiques. Please be civil when contacting us - we created GG for the public’s benefit and enjoyment, and its free :)

There are many GeoGraffiti features to be discussed, but this entry will start with our Facebook integration feature. The Facebook application lets you and your friends stay up-to-date on each other’s Voice Mark activity on geograffiti.com by publishing stories to your mini-feed and your friends’ news feed. Currently you will be notified about new Voice Marks and Voice Mark responses created by your friends. So how do you get it? Here is the link: 

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=3344130540&ref=mf

If you have any questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to let us know.  And check out our very first Voice Mark: www.geograffiti.com/gu/SearchMap.html?vmid=1

Cheers,

The GeoGraffiti Chief Exec Monkey
and
The GeoGraffiti Chief Tech Monkey