Live like a local

If your cell phone can send text messages, then you already possess the key to unlocking… If your cell phone can send text messages, then you already possess the key to unlocking Pittsburgh. DeepLocal, a local software design company, created several information-based applications that users can access with their cell phones. The applications serve to connect people with one another and with their surroundings. With support from The Sprout Fund, a nonprofit grant-making organization, DeepLocal recently launched three new programs: Spot, Follow and MeetMe. ‘Our software mainly deals with online mapping and project technology involving cell phones and text messaging,’ said Nathan Martin, co-founder and current CEO of DeepLocal. The projects are a result of a brainstorming event hosted by The Sprout Fund in 2006. ‘Everyone showed up to the event to talk about ideas to address some of the problems in the city,’ said Ryan Coon of The Sprout Fund. ‘We came up with about 100 ideas and found common threads.’ Coon explained that a majority of the ideas revolved around distribution of information about the city. ‘There were a lot of ideas about trying to make info you gain by living here a little more accessible,’ he said. One idea was to build kiosks with information about points of interest in different areas of the city. The Sprout Fund sent out a request for proposal and started taking applications from companies interested in helping with the project. ‘They all took the idea very literally,’ said Coon. ‘DeepLocal came and threw out the idea of a physical kiosk.’ Instead, DeepLocal suggested, why not apply a piece of technology many people already had to The Sprout Fund’s proposed solution? ‘It proved to be, by far, the most robust idea. With DeepLocal, if you have a cell phone, you have access to it. Instead of the physical structure, it’s more of a kiosk in your pocket idea.’ On Spot and Follow’s respective Web sites, users can register their cell phone numbers to the applications and receive informational text messages. ‘Spot features popular spots in Pittsburgh that can be sent directly to your phone,’ said Martin. Both registered and unregistered users can text the word ‘spot’ to the number 27126 with their current location and receive information about where to eat, drink and sightsee in their area. Follow works in conjunction with Spot, which uses six local residents who know the area well. Users can register their number or e-mail address with the person who has interests similar to their own and receive information about places relevant to those interests. DeepLocal has future plans to put up stickers to label these places of interest.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We have about 100 stickers we will start to put up in the fall,’ said Martin. MeetMe, on the other hand, is an anonymous dating application where two people can send text messages back and forth through the site based on their location. Ongoing conversations can also be viewed on the main site. Pitt and CMU are among the featured locations. ‘We are planning to relaunch MeetMe around venues. Relaunching MeetMe is what we’re most excited about,’ said Martin. All three programs are user-friendly and offer simple instructions that can even be accessed on your cell phone upon request. In the future, Martin hopes that he can expand the programs to other cities. ‘Our platform lets us build these types of applications quickly and efficiently,’ said Martin. ‘These applications are just a small example of what we can do.’