Last month, my colleague wrote a blog post on PostCrossing and was not feeling the love about its services. It's basically an upgrade of the pen pal concept: you sign up for the free service, are randomly assigned a name and address of another user anywhere in the world so that you can zip off a postcard to that person. The service tracks the postcards you send (similar to Facebook on a personal wall) and ensures that you receive a postcard in return for every one that you mail.

So I tried it out, and the verdict is in: PostCrossing actually rocks. Maybe you need to be of a certain age to appreciate this site and service -- when I was young, everyone wanted a pen pal who lived overseas. And I have to say, after multiple trips abroad, this is still the case in countries such as Germany and Australia, where local residents randomly met in bars ask if they can keep in touch. That's why PostCrossing has hundreds of thousands of users, and now I'm one of them. So far, I've received thank you emails through the site from my postcard recipients in Finland and Germany, and I've received my first postcard from a woman in Taiwan.

Yes, it's true that it's not an immediate gratification kind of a thing...the postcard from Taiwan took 17 days from the time my name/address was generated by PostCrossing until it was received. And the postcards I've mailed to China and Thailand have yet to arrive, although they were sent three weeks ago. But if you're patient, it's kind of a cool activity for a rainy afternoon. And we have a lot of those in the Seattle area.

-posted by Rachel

Are you a hardcore runner, walker, cyclist or kayaker?  If so, you'll definitely think this latest start up is cool. The company is called Endomondo, and they offer free GPS tracking and social networking tools for athletes.  Functionality basically boils down to several key areas: workouts, stats, friends, challenges, maps and routes (all rolled into a nice GUI).

Here's how it works. You sign up online (for free) and can then download the software (for free) onto your phone (Nokia, HTC, iPhone, Android, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, HP, Garmin, you get the picture). The phone's GPS capabilities map and track your progress, route, speed, etc.  This allows you to keep a running (no pun intended) diary online and communicate progress and goals with friends, track routes you love and compete in community challenges -- all in the name of killing calories.

As far as niche products go, this might be right on target.  Whatcha think?  Successful Launch, or Mission Scrub for this start-up?

Think there's a service or idea for everything?  Well, you're right, there is.   Case in point - PostCrossing.

What is PostCrossing? It's a project that allows anyone to receive postcards (real ones, not electronic) from random places in the world.

Why you might ask? Don't feel bad, I was wonder too...and, thankfully for us, the website answers that question (they must get it a lot).  "Why? Because, like the author, there are lots of people who like to receive real mail. The element of surprise of receiving postcards from different places in the world (many of which you probably have never heard of) can turn your mailbox into a box of surprises - and who wouldn't like that?"

Oh, okay, now I understand. A box of surprises...
Soooo, if you are really starving for a random postcard from across the globe, here are the simple steps you must take:

- Register for an account
- Request an address and a Postcard ID through the website
- Check your email and get the address
- Buy a postcard and postage
- Mail the postcard to the address the website gave you
- Wait, wait and wait
- Receive a postcard from another postcrosser sometime in the future
- Register the Postcard ID you have received
- View your map of postcards (just for fun)
- Go to the second point and repeat

Wow, I mean WOW!!  To quote Britney Spears, "Have fun ya'll." I think it takes as many steps to create nuclear fusion. In the meantime, I think I'll cure cancer.

Whatcha think?  Successful Launch, or Mission Scrub for this start-up?

[BTW, they claim to have 153k members that send more than 359 postcards an hour. So add that to your box of surprises.]



-posted by Justin

Time for a new blog segment I like to call, "Start Ups That May Suck, or Not... You Decide."

Since new companies are popping up all the time – some with lame ideas and some with friggin great ideas – I thought I'd try to share some of these, err, umm, experiments. For better or worse, but just for plan old-fashion fun!

We'll kick it off with Karaoke Play. Honestly who doesn't like a little karaoke. You go out for dinner, have some beers, next thing you know it's 10 pm, your feeling saucy, the karaoke machine gets set up and the grand master announces karaoke night. You review the song book, put in your selection, wait 40 minutes, drink more beer, then proceed to make a fool out of yourself on stage, all the while playing out some teen fantasy of becoming a rock star. In the morning your head hurts and you wonder if the crowd really liked your male-version of Celine Dion's "I'm your lady." Sound familiar?

Well, if embarrassing yourself in a room of 50 people isn't enough, you can now visit KaraokePlay.com. Just log on, record a track and let the entire world (or community) critique your performance(s). It's like your own personal American Idol show. Let the punishment begin. And if audio wasn't enough, that's right, you can integrate video!!! So, you can share all the funny faces you make while singing, to those watching your post.

This is a site I want to hate... BUT, I kind of found myself liking it. It's a lot of fun, in a "I'm-a-tool-who-thinks-in-another-life-I-could-have-been-a-rock-star" kind of way. So, before you judge, give this one a go.

Whatcha think? Successful Launch, or Mission Scrub?



-posted by Justin