1 post tagged Local

The mobile service Hot Potato launched at the RealTime Crunchup earlier today.  My first impression is that it’s a local and mobile version of Facebook Connect.  This is a good thing.  Similar to the way Facebook lets friends and strangers communicate around live events on major networks (e.g. Presidential Inauguration on CNN), Hot Potato enables people to communicate in real-time around local events (e.g. concerts, parties, etc.).

It’s another iteration of local applications. You can check into places just like you would on Foursquare, but the features don’t just stop there.  You can write messages, post photos, and communicate with fellow attendees.  Essentially, it behaves like a multimedia mobile chatroom.  TechCrunch describes it quite nicely:

Hot Potato uses events as its primary filter, and adds a social and geo layers on top. You sign in with your Facebook account so you can connect with existing friends easily. You can also add your Twitter account. When you send out a note or put up a photo, it can be shared on Facebook, Tweeted out, or shared via email with a link back to the original content. The link goes back to a Hot Potato website where all the links are hosted. Or you can simply share your Hot Potato status (attending, watching, following).

There’s a ton of hype around local and mobile applications right now, and I think Hot Potato is poised to make some noise.  I’ll be following this one closely.