Loopt In

Loopt @SXSW

SXSW is here. If you’re going, check out the fresh update to the iPhone and iPod touch that we released this week. Pulse on Loopt has the consolidated guide for all the panels, films, bands, AND parties going on at SXSW (Pulse! tab -> Events). You can listen to music clips from the SXSW bands and see who else is going on Facebook BEFORE deciding if you should go to their concerts. Make sure to also use Pings so you don’t lose your friends amidst the SXSW crowds (Map tab -> Ping). Hey, all that Pinging and Ponging might even get you rewarded with a t-shirt too...

Come check out some of the Loopt @SXSW stuff going on:

Austin Giveaways. Find sweet offers on Loopt from participating Austin businesses. Like dollar Lonestar Longnecks from 219West or a free appetizer from MAX’s Wine Dive happy hour food menu with your next purchase. Look for the Loopt signs!

TWiST party. Party with us on Saturday, March 13 - 4-7 PM @ Six Lounge, 117 West 4th Street. Go here for more details.

Dine with Dino. Look for the inflatable dinosaurs to eat food and get free stuff. March 14-16 @ ? (Invading secret locations all around SXSW). Go here for more details.

Learn about the Life Graph. Find out more at our panel on Monday, March 15 - 12:30 PM @ Hilton K. Go here for more details.

Claim your t-shirt. They’re pretty sweet - just have your friend Ping you and show it off to a member of the Loopt Street Team, March 14-15 - 3-7 PM @ Austin Convention Center

Get ready to Rumble. Check In with Loopt to cut to the front of the line, March 17 - 6-12 AM, March 18-20, 12-6 PM @ Shangri-La, 1016 East 6th Street. Go here for more details.

Come to THE SXSW Panel on Location: The Life Graph

SXSW is just around the corner and it has already been proclaimed by some that location-based services will be the centerpiece of the popular tech conference held in Austin, TX. We couldn’t agree more. 

Given that, here’s something to put on your SXSW must-go-to list... 

We're excited to introduce our SXSW panel on The Life Graph: You Are Your Location. The panel will bring you insights from some of the other major players in the location services field. Loopt’s CEO & Co-Founder, Sam Altman, will be joined by Steve Lee, Senior Product Manager at Google who has global responsibility for Google’s geo-related mobile products (such as Google Maps and Google Latitude), Ryan Sarver, the Director of Platform at Twitter who leads the social network’s geo-location efforts, and Tina Unterlaender, acting Management Supervisor of AKQA Mobile who has developed mobile marketing campaigns for clients such as Visa, Target, and Xbox. The panel will be moderated by Clara Shih, founder and CEO of Hearsay Labs and author of The Facebook Era. 

But, what is the “Life Graph” you ask? Here’s a taste: Bridging the gap between cyberspace and reality, the ''Life Graph'' will revolutionize how individuals interact with the world around them: predictive recommendations with rich local content that matters the most to you here and now. 

The panel will take place on Monday, March 15 at 12:30 PM @ Hilton K.  Go here for more details.

Stay tuned, we’ve got more SXSW updates coming and more on the "Life Graph"...

Check In for Haiti – It’s Your Turn, Macworld

Last week, we asked you to help people affected by the earthquake in Haiti by checking in to a Whole Foods, Chipotle Grill, or Panera Bread retail location. We promised to donate $1 for each such Check In, and as a result, we saw Check Ins at these location rise 200% from their norm. Thanks so much for your help, guys!

Macworld: now it’s your turn! Check In to Macworld at the Moscone Center from now until midnight on February 13, and we will donate $1 to victims of the earthquake in Haiti on your behalf. The funds will go to the American Red Cross as well as Doctors Without Borders.

There is no charge to the Loopt user. You can share your Check Ins with friends by linking Loopt to your Facebook and Twitter profiles.

If you'd like more information about donating to the Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund, click here; to learn more about how you can help Doctors Without Borders, click here.

Holiday Scavenger Crawl Fun Keeps Going

 

Hope everyone who played the Holiday Scavenger Crawl enjoyed it! It was a fun way for us to show off how the new Loopt helps you connect to people, places, and events in your city.  

We received a bunch of requests to bring the Holiday Scavenger Crawl to other cities across the U.S. Here’s what we’ve decided to do instead to give you a taste of the Holiday Scavenger Crawl – allow you the opportunity to play for a chance at "The BIG Prize": a round-trip ticket to Hawaii* (get it? Hawaii being the ultimate holiday from the holidays...). 

This mission brought to you by the letter...er...Jester from April Fool’s: 

Arguably the only holiday that overtly encourages deceit and emotional hi-jacking (fun, fun!) is April Fool's Day. Suddenly, for one day, it's totally OK to be mean. We don't entirely get it, and to be truthful, we carry the scars of many a mean prank. In this spirit, we bring back the Fool in April Fool's day. Instead of crushing disappointment, this new April Fool's day will be simple, silly, and foolish. It shall be a day of funny-walks and strange voices. For this creative photo mission, stage your very best 'Stupid Human Trick.' Standing on your head ain't gonna cut it here folks. Think harder. Think stupider. 

Take a photo, Check In, and enable Loopt to post your Check In to Twitter and Facebook – be sure to include “@loopt” as well as “#looptgames” and follow Loopt on Twitter. If you don’t have Twitter, leave the link for the Check In in the comments on Loopt’s Facebook Fan page. 

We’ll gather the 10 best and then let the PEOPLE (i.e. - the Loopt community following @loopt on Twitter and fanning Loopt on Facebook) decide. Good luck. 

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the Holiday Scavenger Crawl in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles!

p.s. - If you have any photos of the Holiday Scavenger Crawl, feel free to add them to this photo album. 

*Offer is available to all registered Loopt users on eligible phones residing in the United States who have enabled Loopt-Twitter and/or Loopt-Facebook integration. Must be 14 years of age or older to enter. In order to enter, you must update your status on Twitter or Facebook using Loopt and include “@loopt” and "#looptgames" in the status update. Loopt must be able to view your status update; please ensure that your privacy settings on Twitter will allow Loopt to see your Twitter stream or that you post the link to the status update in the comments on Loopt's Facebook Fan page. There is no limit to the amount of times you may make an entry. You consent to Loopt's use and the public display of your entries. Loopt will begin accepting entries at 3:00 PM PST on January 21, 2010 and will stop accepting new entries at 11:59 PM PST on February 5, 2010. Loopt reserves sole discretion to pick the 10 semi-finalists who will compete for the prize. Public voting for the prize winner will commence at a point in time of Loopt’s choosing after the entry period closes and will take place on PollDaddy.com. Each person is allowed one vote during this public voting phase. The participant with the entry that receives the most votes during this voting phase will receive the prize: a round-trip ticket to Hawaii (up to the amount of $1,000). Loopt is not responsible for a lost ticket and will not issue an additional ticket. The round-trip ticket is subject to additional terms and conditions. Please allow 6-8 weeks after the end of the promotion for delivery. Loopt may modify, suspend or terminate this promotion at any time. This promotion and awarding of this prize will be conducted by Loopt, Inc. whose decisions are final on all matters. The airline issuing the ticket or PollDaddy.com are not affiliated with or sponsors of this promotion.

Loopt Holiday Scavenger Crawl: SF, It's Your Turn to Play

Thanks to all the players who came out to the Loopt Holiday Scavenger Crawl in New York and Los Angeles. We had a great time solving clues and racing from swanky galleries to coffee shops, even if we did face some rather extreme weather conditions. 

Some of you won sweet prizes. Some of you got a free drink or two. Some of you even made some new friends. And all of you had a great time! 

But we saved the best for last. THIS Saturday, January 2nd, it’s San Francisco’s turn to show us what you’ve got. We’ll be meeting at 2:00 PM in front of 111 Minna for the Holiday Scavenger Crawl. Sign up now if you haven’t already. 

See you there? 

 

Mella Media Wins Best Mobile Campaign with Loopt

The partnership between Loopt and Mella Media delivered the honor of, “Best Mobile Campaign – 2009” at the DPAC Awards on Tuesday night. For its client, B.R. Guest Restaurants, Mella Media engaged Loopt to deploy the hyperlocal mobile campaign. 

“It was exciting for us to match our client’s business goals to the right mobile platform. Location-based advertising has been promised in the mobile industry for over a decade, and Loopt has delivered the engaging platform that makes this a reality,” said Jordan Greene, Principal/Mobile Media for Mella Media. 

The campaign won the coveted mobile prize amongst other digital categories won by American Express OPEN, Coca Cola, and Ogilvy. 

The campaign running in New York City presents the Loopt community with exclusive offers from the closest of B.R. Guest’s 15 restaurants including Dos Caminos, Ruby Foos, and Blue Water Grill. With a simple tap, the consumer can call the restaurant, connect to view the menu, map its location, or find the fastest route to get there.

  

Loopt Holiday Scavenger Crawl: Play in LA, NY, or SF

Time to give yourself a Holiday from the Holidays! Join a Holiday Scavenger Crawl of massive proportions - it’s part pub crawl, part urban scavenger hunt. Armed with the new Loopt application on your phone, you will join fellow players in Los Angeles (Sat., 12/12), New York (Sat., 12/19), and San Francisco (Sat., 1/2) scurrying from speakeasies to swanky galleries to coffee shops, solving clues, engaging with secret agents, and racing against the clock to win cool prizes and locate the VIP party of the season.

All you have to do is download the new, free Loopt application for your iPhone, iPod touch, or Blackberry and sign up to play here. Get a free Loopt t-shirt if you’re among the first 500 to sign up!

Consider this the cure for the unending drone of Holiday muzak, 50% off sales and grandma’s bundt cake. Instead, we’ll feature Carnival Dancers, love letters from Cupid, and dandelion weavings around the May Pole. And, all the while, you’ll get to meet up with fellow Loopt denizens on an escapade through the hotspots of a city you only think you know.

Go here to sign up to play »

What’s a Life Graph?

You’ve heard of the “Social Graph” but have you heard of the “Life Graph”? Want to find out more about what your “Life Graph” is and how it will change your life?

If you do, please vote for Loopt’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference panel – The Life Graph: You Are Your Location. Click here to vote.

Here’s the description:

Bridging the gap between cyberspace and reality, the “Life Graph” will revolutionize how individuals interact with the world around them: predictive recommendations with rich local content that matters the most to you here and now. We will explore the Life Graph concept and how it will change your life.

At the last SXSW Conference, we led a great discussion on location-based advertising with our “Location, Location, Location: The Future of Mobile Advertising” panel so we hope to do it again. If you’re interested, you can listen to that panel here.

Again, you only have until September 4th to vote so do it now.

Thanks for Coming to the Loopt Mix-er!

Loopt community, thanks for joining us at the Loopt Mix-er in San Francisco last week! If you took any photos at the party, feel free to add them to this photo album. Here are a few that have been added already:

 Nini and Alok viewing the art at 111 Minna Gallery.

Paul, Jessica, and Trevor from Y Combinator – where Loopt got its start.

Sam giving an update on Loopt.

 

The Loopt community enjoying the open bar and DJ WiiJ’s music.

Chris chilling with his friend Ashley.

Check out the photo album on Facebook for more (and add your own).

Laura has more up on her Flickr page too!

Time to Party! Loopt Mix-er on June 8

It's time to party! Loopt community - we want to personally thank you for continuing to support the Loopt service on Monday, June 8th from 7-9 PM at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco over drinks, snacks, and music. Let's celebrate what we've accomplished so far and chat about what's next.

RSVP to blog@loopt.com or on our Facebook page soon and we'll send you a message to confirm your spot.

We'll see you there.