Brightkite is a location-based social networking website that is available on any mobile device. Users "check in" at places by using text messaging or one of the mobile applications and they can see who is nearby and who has been there before. The service was created in 2007 by Brady Becker, Martin May and Alan Seideman who previously founded the SMS notification service Loopnote. In April 2009 Brightkite was acquired by mobile social network Limbo.[1][2]
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Brightkite allows registered users to connect with their existing friends and also meet new people based on the places that they go. Once a user "checks in" at a place, they can post notes and photos to that location and other users can comment on these posts. Users control the privacy of their updates and can choose to share them with their Twitter and Facebook accounts, while also having the option to share their geotagged photo posts to Flickr.
Brightkite is available worldwide.
Brightkite currently has applications for Android, iOS (iPhone), and Symbian.[3]
The Brightkite Android app also uses the phone's GPS to locate the user and has many of the same features as the iPhone app. Notable additions include mapping and background notifications.[4]
The Brightkite iPhone app uses the iPhone's geolocation features to automatically locate the user. From the app a user can check in, post a note or photo, send messages, browse their friend and nearby streams, and access their account settings.[5]
The Brightkite Wall[6] is a visualization tool that shows real-time updates from a place, user, or keyword.[7] Users also have the option to display posts from Twitter containing a specific hashtag.[8]
Brightkite has a public application programming interface (API) available to build websites and applications that augment the official website.[10]
Other Services