Hot Potato Media, Inc.

Facebook is reportedly on the verge of acquiring the social-activity site Hot Potato, and the deal is another sign that the social networking giant plans to roll out a check-in service which could compete against Foursquare, Gowalla and others. TechCrunch is reporting the deal will be for about $10 million, which isn’t much in the tech space and makes the deal seem more like a talent acquisition than a real tech acquisition. Hot Potato does have an Apple iPhone app which allows check ins, as well as the ability to share other content. If and when the deal is completed, it should bolster Facebook’s efforts to get into the location-based service game with a check-in system. I actually expected Facebook to roll this out a few months ago at its developer conference and early information suggests it will involve a “Places” tab in the mobile version and apps. You’ll reportedly be able to update your status with your location in line, as well as other location-centric goodies. We’ve also seen reports that the Facebook check-in service will launch with McDonald’s as a partner. While the fast-food chain doesn’t scream “high tech,” it is the height of mainstream and I could easily see it a success if the partnership yielded a few discounts for checking in at Ronald McDonald’s fast-food house. Moving forward, it’s clear that mobile and location will play a huge role in the future of Facebook. The company’s Erick Tseng, recently poached from the Google Android team, said the social network wants to become a mobile platform and check-in services could be an important part of that strategy. It’s unclear if the Facebook check-in service will directly compete with Foursquare or if it will allow third parties to build apps on top, but it represents a strong tool for location-based services. If your local Starbucks shoots you a discount every time you’re near it, that could be kind of useful but it could also be spam-like and annoying after a while. Now, if the service only sends you a message when a Facebook friend is there, or when it’s offering a drink that your friends really enjoy, that makes it much more powerful. Marin Perez has torture tested cell phones and smartphones for industry leaders like CNET and InformationWeek. He remembers when 4G was just a screen on PowerPoint presentations and is fascinated with the amount of innovation out Read More

...you load up the app, you’re taken to a screen with six default prompts for what you may be doing. Those six are: “I’m watching..”, “I’m listening to..”, “I’m attending..”, “I’m reading..”, “I’m thinking about..”, and “I’m playing..” After each, there’s a box to fill in the noun that should follow each of those. When you enter that, Hot Potato searches to... Read More

...and foremost, there is a new iPhone application that just went live in the App Store. With a completely revamped user interface, the app makes it easier than ever to find and participate in events. Perhaps more importantly, it makes it really easy to create new events — and notably, the service has the nicest third-party Foursquare integration I’ve ever seen. When you click on the button... Read More

Plancast, the plan-sharing startup with big-name angel investors and "future as platform" aspirations, has just had its iPhone app accepted into the iTunes store. The app was built by contracted star developer Leah Culver. It's simple, functional, attractive and useful. It's going to be very good for SXSW and probably beyond, if the service continues to stick with users as it has so far. Here's the iTunes link and below you can see some screenshots. I'm posting my plans at Plancast.com/marshallk. You can see who's coming to our SXSW party Sunday night with NPR, PBS and more here on Plancast. See also: Hot Potato also has a new iPhone app just released today (iTunes link) which may come in handy for discussing the events that you attend via Plancast and otherwise. Read More