Following the popularity of Cool Tools Dec 2011, we've created another collection of Cool Tools.
From local mobile tools to data visualisation to location based social networks, it's all happening.
What’s this about?
• Every so often we get together and share the ‘Cool Tools’ we’ve found
• This mid-2012 update is dominated by
– Data visualisation tools, because everyone loves a near-infographic
– Lots of mobile apps – social, location, coupons, and more
Euclid Elements
• Storefront Analytics – sensor monitors wi-fi pings from mobiles in the vicinity (wi-fi on,
doesn’t have to be connected to network) – range is typically 40-70% of all visitors.
• Offers window conversion rate, time in store, details on repeat customers, store hours
optimization...
• $200 per store per month – for a larger chain, its case by case.
Recorded Future
• Analytics platform, which focuses on collating data on a topic from online sources (more than
70,000) past and present and using this to give an indication of what may transpire in that field in
the future.
• May be particularly useful in the way that data is visualized
• $149 per month, for the developer/API version with real time feeds its $2500-$9000.
Tableau Software
• Data visualisation tool, shareable online
• Used by Google, the US sation software to manage spreadsheets, databases etc
• Easily Army, and school teachers
InfiniGraph
• Analytics platform, which focuses on informing you about your brand on social media – what’s
trending around your brand, but also what consumers who interact with you also interact with.
• Pricing is based on the amount of saved searches – ranging from $500-$10,000 per month.
• Also see Persona and Peek Analytics – both focus more on finding out about demographics of
your followers.
JotForm
• JotForm is the first web based WYSIWYG form builder (although Google docs can do similar things).
• Using JotForm, you can create forms, integrate them to your site and receive responses by email – over
40 fields available and forms can be contact based, payment based, survey based...
• 3 pricing options – free, $9.95 per month, $49.95 per month – difference is in the number of
submissions/payments allowed.
FlipTop
• A social profile gathering tool, which can turn email addresses into public
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn data, and vice versa.
• Great idea but varying results – in a trial of our twitter followers, only found 5.3% on
Facebook and 14.7% on Linkedin.
• Limitations come from multiple email addresses and access to private data.
Followerwonk
• Free analytics tool for twitter (for less than 1000followers – if more then have to purchase
credit).
• Tells you about number of tweets of followers, how many followers they have, account
age, location/bio word clouds.
• Also possible to compare users, search twitter bios for certain terms, and to track
relationship with followers.
Mapumental
• Allows data mapping in common heat
sensitive way, with variations in colour • Also have time travel maps, which
showing different percentages – the key also allow you to animate the map,
invention is the slider, which allows you seeing how data changes with
to animate the map. Price is 4/5k per time/other variables, which you
map. add. Price is £25 per map.
GeoIQ
• Another data mapping platform, which offers unique social media monitoring
platform - provides real time visualization and analysis of streaming social media
sources – they provide the data – cost is on a case by case basis.
• Also, real time location analytics show where and when mobile apps/vouchers are
used – users can layer in social media data, target markets and point of sales data.
GPS Visualiser Address
Locator
• Free online service that creates maps/profiles from GPS data, driving routes, street
addresses, or coordinates.
• Enter tabular data (comma delimited) and use it to visualise geographic data (business
locations, events, customers, geotagged photos/content, GPS drawing etc. Simply plots
them.
TrendsMap
• A site, which maps twitter trends onto maps, and also shows you what is
trending within a specific area.
• Also clicking on a trend in an area allows comparison of local vs. national activity
on the trend.
Visual.ly
• A platform for users to create and share infographic and data
visualisations – opportunity to become a partner and have visual.ly
create and promote your data.
PlaceCast
• Geo-Fencing tech to reach out to people when they are nearby. This is the tech that O2 use
for O2 proximity marketing, but instead of using O2’s customer data, you’d use your own.
• It’s governed by contact opt-in rules.
• Also features PlaceAd – a feature, which allows for the geo specific customization of ads
BeepTreat
• Neat business/customer proposition, with the customer getting a freebie and the business
getting a Facebook status update. Enabled by QR codes.
• A local crew – developed in the creative hub of Bristol, UK
• Price is per location/per month - £25 for 1 offer/1 poster, £50 for 4 offers/2 posters, £75 for
unlimited – plus greater demographic information with greater price.
Shopkick
• The app rewards you for simply walking into a store via an automatic check-in, which
occurs when you open the app. It works at both a deal based and rewards level – for the
latter users can collect ‘kicks’ that are redeemable at numerous large retailers.
• Primarily based in the US – total 3 million users – generated £110 million in revenue last
year for its brand partners.
Google Maps Business Photos
• Allows users to display pictures of the interior of your store in Google Places/Maps,
akin to Google Streetview but inside.
• Google have a ‘trusted photographer’ initiative, whereby businesses can partner
with photographers suggested by Google to take the photos.
Walkbase - Checked
• Automatic Android Foursquare check-in app that lets people passively check in - Each time someone checks-
in, Walkbase scans the room for Wi-Fi and other signals and uses the data to map a room.
• Could be great for stores - could push out very specific advertising when a person walks into an area within
store. The check-in data could also provide useful analytics.
• This is just a test app, which is being used to highlight walkbase API/technology, which are free for non-
profit/non funded start-ups, and then cost between $40-$60 per month.
CrowdBeacon
• Location based communication/advice services.
• Similar to LocalMind, ask the app a question, and then the ‘experts’ in the field in your area will
provide the answer – also it will pool results from other location based platforms e.g.
Google/Foursquare. When you sign up, you choose a category to be an ‘expert’ in.
n0tice
• The Guardian’s community notice board for local news and events where anyone can post.
• Advertising is available - positions are sold based on region size and duration so, as an example, if
you want to be certain of premium position on all pages displayed within a one mile radius the cost is
£1 per day.
• No cost to post small offer based ad.
Trover
• An app/site, which curates geo-tagged images connected to a location of your choice. Can post photos
through the app.
• Each image can also link to Google Maps, and a description of the place – could be especially useful
for clients with a strong visual presence.
Thrillist - London
• Not terribly interesting, but added anyway! A free daily email, which keeps you up to date with the
trendiest events in your ‘hood’ and on the web.
• Primarily US – in the UK, its only available in London – there are advertising opportunities
available, both within the emails, and also getting ‘featured’ on the site.
Park at My House
• Global online parking marketplace created in 2006 allowing people to rent parking
spaces and rent their unused spaces out.
• Invested in by the BMW group.
Loku
• US based start-up, but is a city guide, where users can
put very specific filters on what they see.
Shazam
• Shazam is an app, which scans music and informs you of the artist – currently has 165
million users.
• Can be used for advertising – scan campaigns and then content can be pushed to users
afterwards. Already used by several brands such as Old Navy, General
Mills, NewsCorp, Calvin Klein (in-store).
• Better than QR as users already have the app for a different purpose.
GuideBook
• Customized events guide on mobiles.
• Features include – a curation of social media within the app, a directory of those at the event,
interactive maps and schedules, share local relevant data e.g. restaurants nearby...
• Three different price plans per event – two you build ones ($500, $2500) and one when they
build the app ($7500).
Stamped
• Stamped is a mobile only network for recommending places/things.
• Despite being marketed as sharing with close friends – everyone’s profile is
actually public. Can follow recommendations of specific users.
• Everyone has a limited number of stamps – they are supposed to be only for the
very best. You can get more by earning ‘credit’ from those that trust your opinions.
Cheers
• Launched at the start of February 2012, its an app, which lets you salute anything
you want from people, media, and places, and share it with the world on social
media.
Tackable
• It is a photo sharing and challenge platform – you can set assignments that
followers can complete using the iPhone
Tagwhat
• Location based mobile encyclopaedia - based around the idea that you can learn more
about your surroundings than simply who has checked in/reviews – you can learn context
and history. Possible to toggle interest streams on and off.
• Content comes from Tagwhat, open sources of content, media companies and also from
Tagwhat’s self publishing platform.
• Brand channels are available.
Localscope
• Search aggregator app available for iPhone – when you search for/from your location, it
aggregates all geo-tagged content and general information about the area from
numerous sources including search, Yelp, and social media.
Aurasma
• Augmented reality app, which allows you to not only view created pieces of AR, but even create
your own for your friends to access e.g. link photos, videos or messages to a certain
location/symbol.
• Possible to subscribe to people’s channels and there are location based search functions, which
tells you what ‘auras’ are nearby.
• Currently over 3 million users and 1500 partners e.g. Both Clarks and M+S just launched
campaigns in February 2012.
Bottlenose
• Launched in December 2011 - social media
dashboard, which allows greater personalisation
of feeds – group into • Sonar presents a new more
news, opinions, videos, events. visual interpretation of content.
• Also possible to create features such as
automated responses..
ThinkUp
• This is a social media management tool with an open source community behind it, so expect fast-
paced feature growth and personalisation
Facebook ‘Likes’
• Made by Willowtree Apps and launched within the last month, this app aims to study the activity of
your Facebook friends, and also of their friends, in order to make local recommendations on the
back of these. Available on both mobile and within Facebook.
• Part of a larger movement of apps, which aim to take Facebook local.
Highlight
• Designed to keep you in the loop on people you may know within a close proximity to your
physical location.
• Once the app is connected to your Facebook, it begins alerting you to the presence of
other ‘Highlight’ users in your immediate vicinity, with whom you can interact.
Glancee
• Similar to ‘Highlight’, Glancee aims to connect you with people in your immediate vicinity that have similar
interests. There’s a ‘news’ feed, which shows you the people with the greatest amount of similarity.
• The app lets you sign in with Facebook, then it shows you people within 100 yards, or one, two, or ten miles
who have things in common – you can then message/call them.
• Glancee suggest that it could be particularly useful for events, and that analytics could let you see what
connections your consumers were making.
INTRO
• Location based social introduction app focused on business – sign in with
Linkedin.
• Runs in background, alerting you to people you may want to meet through
job/industry.
• Connect to FB/Twitter so you can see possible connections.
• Can also virtually travel to another area to meet people.
CardFlick
• Create virtual business cards on mobile and ‘flick’ to nearby users – no real interaction
behind it though.
Pinterest
• No one should need an intro to this - one of the world’s fastest growing social
networks; now with 10 million monthly users.
• Create your own visual notice boards with images from across the web – also follow
other notice boards.
• Seen as an excellent way to drive web traffic
Uberlife
• Aims to help people organise local hangouts. A user can share where and when they
wish to hang out within their local community, and then join other hangout nearby.
• Initial bugs reported with sign up/in process.
Path
• Launched in November 2010, Path is still a very small social network, with just over 1 million
users, Path is designed for sharing with only close friends and family (it has a 150 friend
limit). It is only available on mobile.
• Possible to respond with any one of five core emotions: smile, frown, gasp, laugh, and love.
• Recently got into trouble by taking all iPhone contact data onto their servers.
Google ‘Schemer’
• New platform developed by Google to integrate with Google+.
• Designed to enable users to share and discover things to do. In other words, it allows them to
organise and take part in activities or as Google brands them, ‘schemes’.
• It is currently available only by invite.
Thunderclap
• The Kickstarter of Twitter
messages – get enough
people to support your
message on Thunderclap and
they’ll all tweet it out at once
• Co-ordinated Twitter trending