TNW Quick Hit
Marco! (free) is a new location-sharing app for iPhone allowing one the unique choice of sharing location with certain people, in lieu of broadcasting your present place to the entire world.
Hits: With Marco! a user chooses to share location only when a friend sends you a Marco! requesting it. By using Facebook Connect, Marco! does not require one to request friendships or approve requests from others.
Misses: Marco! only works for those who also have app. The option to search for friends is greatly needed.
Overall: 3.5/5
The Details:
Check-in fatigue is something many are faced with, myself included, when using Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Facebook Places, ect., ect., ect.
A new app from Australia-basedSwift Current Ventures, Marco!, seeks to reverse the check-in whip by giving the power of sharing aplace back to the people. Using a reverse check-in system, the app lets one selectively show their location to others only when asked and only when you choose.
Heres how it works:
After launching the Marco! the users location is plotted on a map. If its accurate and you want ! to set y our place, hit Set Place.
Marco! also offers the ability to view the last spots youve checked-in at and other nearby ports of call for easy location selection. Nothing new at this point when compared to other location-sharing apps.
Where Marco! sets itself apart from the apps listed above is how one reveals their location to others. One does not use Marco! to check-in at locations. Rather, users request to learn the location of their Facebook friends by sending them a Marco. Anyone using the app will have a list of Marcos to approve, thereby giving ones location away to those who request it, but only if you want to. If it sounds empowering, it is.
Unfortunately,Marco! onlyworks for those who also have app, and users have no way through the app of knowing if they are. The reason? Despite using Facebook Connect, the Facebook API no longer allows apps to send messages to others who do not have it due to some apps spam-a-rific tendencies. In speaking with the Swift Current Ventures founder Scott Goldie, he indicates:
The original hope was to enable a Facebook message to be sent to the person who doesnt have the app, but the Facebook API no longer allows that functionality due to some apps spamming. Its certainly a barrier to the app spreading virally.
Due to the actions of other apps, some truly solid ones like Marco! are punished by Facebooks API. Its analogous to a couple of kids weve all had classes with at some point who act up, resulting in the punishment of the entire class! . Its no t fun.
Another issue which is within the apps control, concerns searching for friends with the app. Theres no search box. This is problematic if you have a great deal of friends as you have to scroll and scroll through friends to find the one you want to send a Marco to, and if theyre not using the app, you get the error message pictured above.
What does the future hold for Marco!? According to Goldie, push notifications are in the offing, as is an Android version of the app. One can only hope that friend search capability and a way to get more users on-board from within the app are also forthcoming.
Marco! is a great idea for those who have check-in fatigue or only want to announce ones location on their terms. The app simple enough to use, but is hindered by one item out of the creators control and one item they need to correct as soon as possible.
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