Neer: Personal Social Based Networking
Geo-location based check-in sites have started to become all the rage recently. Foursquare and Gowalla have shown just how ready some people are to announce their favorite locations to the entire world, with millions have signed up to try out the latest craze in mobile media since its arrival last year.
New start-up Neerlife differentiates itself from the crowd by being the first location based service which gives users the power to control exactly what locations they can show up from, as well as specifying exactly who gets to see their movements and when.
The Neer application allows users to create virtual geo-fences around an area on a map, so as to specify it as a place of interest relating to their lives. Individuals can tag the location with any description they want, as well as preparing messages to trigger upon entering or leaving that particular area. Neer works by accessing a smartphones inbuilt GPS, so unlike other location based services members don’t need to actively check-in and out in order for the application to know its user is on the move.
Another big difference (for a location based service) is that the Neer network is a private one. The initial contacts list is suggested by the application based on who the owner calls and texts regularly, with only approved contacts being able to see where a member is at any given time. It is possible to set up multiple groups, with the advantage of being able to impose time restrictions so that people are only able to use the application to find out where a user is at certain points in the day.
Potentially it could be a great tools for both individuals and businesses. It’s a great way to keep track of family and friends, without having to worry about the whole world knowing what they are up to. Neer also provides a valuable service for organizations that have people working outside of the office on a regular basis, making it easy to keep track of people during the day.
At the moment the Neer application only works on smartphones that use an Android based operating system, but the developers are hoping to bring out an iPhone version soon.
Having the ability to ‘set and forget’ a privacy conscious check-in service could be a real game changer for the lbs market. Neer isn’t just a good way to see what your friends are up to, its a service that offers peace of mind to parents, spouses and business owners (over 50,000 of whom have downloaded the App in just one month), which in my book is what makes it one to watch for in the emerging field of location based social media.
That’s a great news indeed!