Brightkite


 * What Is It?**

Brightkite is a social networking application which is based on the relative location of the user; it allows the user to view the location of their friends, as well as make posts and communicate with others. The application also allows for Augmented Reality with the assistance of Layar; Augmented Reality is the blending of computer-generated data with real world footage in real time. For Brightkite, this enables the user to view notes that others have left in the physical space.




 * How Does It Work?**

Brightkite detects the location and the users, and thus allows the users to locate the whereabouts of each other through their system. The interface is simple and encourages users that are in close proximity to meet up. The Augmented Reality portion of the application makes it possible for the user to view notes left by others in a physical space, which is detected by a combination of the location tracking and camera on the phone. In practice, the user views the world through the lens of the camera, and signifiers for notes left by other users are seen layered on top of the physical world.

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 * Analysis**

The application integrates several different communication methods into one, which is crucial to its success. Although location tracking with friends (Dodgeball) and Augmented Reality (Google Maps) is nothing new, the combination of the two ideas increases the potential usage and function of the application. The potential of this application is high due to its simple interface and execution; the note function is especially interesting because it allows for users to do more than just meet up and know the location of each other—for example, one can tag the location of a book in a library for another user, which is far more precise in Augmented Reality than it is in traditional map view.


 * References**

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