Philly Net Squared 10/4/2011, Location Based Services for Nonprofits and Social Change

Whether checking in with FourSquare, finding the nearest Starbucks or reporting on violent events witnessed in Kenya, location-based services are becoming more common, more useful and more creative. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that 28% of American adults are using location-based services.

In this Net Tuesday program we'll demonstrate and discuss these sorts of services, why they're important, and how they may be helpful to you.

The highly interactive discussion includes these local experts who are heavily involved in location-based services: Robert Cheetham, President of Azavea, which specializes in geographic data, geospatial analysis and the web. Robert will talk about Augmented Reality: seeing the city with location-based digital overlays. He'll present an overview of the development of an NEH-funded prototype for an augmented reality application that used photographs from PhillyHistory.org. What works, what doesn't work and where the technology is going. Rachel Weeden, Solution Engineering Manager at Esri, which "is built on the philosophy that a geographic approach to problem solving ensures better communication and collaboration". Rachel will describe ArcGIS Online, an open data platform for maps and geographic information that allows geographic data to be delivered as simple, useful maps. It includes free applications that require little to no training and are great for non-GIS users. ArcGIS Online can be used within an organization, or to share information with a larger community and the public. Cliff Stevens, founder of Lokadot, a brand new mobile application that serendipitously streams crowd-sourced audio files based on your location. Cliff will talk about the trends for people using their mobile devices for listening to audio/music and video, what are organizations doing, and what location-based mobile solutions are they using, to engage with their constituencies so as to leverage these trends and new-found capabilities. Gloria Bell is Principal of Red Stapler Consulting, and an active force behind numerous local social media groups and events (including the Social Media Club and the upcoming SocialMediaPlus web 2.0 business summit (for which Philly Net Squared members can get a 15% discount). Gloria will discuss FourSquare, the hyper-popular service for checking in your whereabouts, and how it can be used effectively by nonprofits.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• social action
• philly net squared
• location based services
• nonprofits