Plazes.com - Geolocation Community
Posted by Pat Kitano at 3/2/2007 12:03 AM 
Categories: Technology, Hyperlocal Content, social networking
Categories: Technology, Hyperlocal Content, social networking
Here's a rare rave review - I found Plazes (it's a startup from Germany) as a plugin through Netvibes - it's a unique mashup that tracks peoples' whereabouts by geocoding where their laptop is or via their cell phone.
Plazes has dual utility - it tracks where your contacts are in real time, but it also allows users to add favorite destinations - wifi hotspots, coffee shops, railroad stations, offices - they can inhabit. My hang out is Javaholics coffee shop, I call this "Plaze" my home. Here is a snapshot of Javaholics (the X) with other Plazes added by users:
When I'm out, I can SMS Plazes.com to set my location via GPS. Centered in my new location, I can use Plazes mashup to locate the free wifi, coffee shop or gas stations in the area. Furthermore, users can comment on the locations - bad coffee? history of the building?
Finally, I can invite contacts and monitor where they are in real time. Here's a map of where all the Plazes users in San Francisco are on March 1 at 11:00pm.
This is a potential killer app for all the Facebook college kids on Friday night trying to find where the party is. One of the founders Stefan Kellner shows how Plazes can be used to map his favorite locales in cities he lives in and visits.
Although Plazes.com would seem to have real estate applications, it's difficult to think of one because it is a real time community tool best used by related parties. Plazes has an API - an MLS feed could populate listings, but then what? How about a broker using Plazes.com to track the whereabouts of their agents' open houses? The value of Plazes.com will increase as more data and information about localities is contributed by its users. This is Yelp, a site for rating local businesses and services, for use by already established communities - groups of friend or networks.
Technorati Tags: plazes.com, plazes, geolocation, geocoding, mashup, yelp, yelp.com, real estate mapping
Pat -
I could see this or something like this used to flag "hot" homes for sale - along with comments - likes, dislikes. The trick would be to get listings placed in the system without appearing so commercial as to offend the community.
D.
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The potential value is precisely related to community -- the community of agents, and third parties,who work together, moreso than it would be for marketing to consumers -- either marketing the property or the agent (unless a third-API mashup occured, which allowed something like Meebo to be integrated with Plazes).
Say your an buyer's agent, you're meeting with a client who wants to make an offer/has a question about a property; what if you could track down the seller's agent with Meebo/Plazes and get the answer, or arrange a meeting? To work, it would take a critical mass of a particular RE community adopting the tools to make it viable.
Which would have an interesting side-effect; imagine broker tour day in your area. Imagine being logged into Plazes, with map up, tracking all the agents? You'd get a fascinating insight into traffic patterns. I missed your seminar in Fremont yesterday because I was with an agent/partner, and we had 150 or so agents through, many of them commented on bumping into one or another a property after property. Being able to observe -- and potentially track -- this behaviour would be an intersting application of the technology. To what end, that's a different question.
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Good ideas Kevin... the utility of geotracking people is powerful once it reaches a critical mass / tipping point... finding the correct initial applications for it is hard beyond a group of college kids finding parties or tracking your kids' whereabouts. Plazes is only the first iteration in tracking, it's currently discontinuous and users need to consistently login by sms. Real time tracking capability would be approaching the 1984 ideal of Big Brother.... I'll be interested in hearing more ideas about geotracking.
Dave, I think listings becoming a social networking destination is appearing in one form or the other at MyCurrency and Homehugg...
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I love this technology. We do a lot of work with it as well and we just can't wait until most of the web is using it. It will make the web feel smaller and make the communities more relevant and connected.
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