

 Proof of concept - feedback appreciated - iqster
http://nearfeed.com

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zachallaun
Could you provide a use case for this tool?

It seems to work, but its value isn't plainly clear to me. (I'm sure you had a
cool reason to create it -- I just want to know what that reason was!)

[edit] Based on the use case provided, I think that a very simple change could
be made that would increase the value tremendously: generate, as well as the
code, a randomized link that can be more easily sent to others through text
message or email.

~~~
iqster
Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm often in a situation where I need to tell
someone where I am in a strange location (moved to a new city - coordinating
with friends). This involves finding a street sign (which aren't always
visible). Geolocation solves that part of the problem. I imagine that speaking
a sequence of three codes over a phone is relatively easy. I wish I could make
it a single 2-digit number or perhaps two, but then it won't scale to too many
users simultaneously :(

~~~
seanalltogether
I think you've found a good problem, but I honestly think this is a very
narrow solution. If anything people are going to be text messaging their
locations to one another, not speaking them over the phone, in which case
you'd just send a link. If they are on a call there's no guarantee that both
parties can use data while talking.

~~~
iqster
Valid point. Right now, my GF and I are texting these codes to each other ...
this wasn't something I imagined. Accessing the net while talking is another
issue you rightly bring up.

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saw-lau
I tried it with the message "What's all this about then?" and it barfed due to
the single quote.

~~~
iqster
Sorry about the bug with the single quotes. Will fix this the next time I get
a chance to update the code on my server.

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FR6
-Why using a code and not simply a URL (ex.: <http://nearfeed.com/667568>)? It will be less manipulation then having to copy/paste the code in a textbox.

-Why using a code and not just giving coordinates?

-Not really accurate for me, 2 km away. I know that its not on your side it has to do with my IP. To obtain the coordinates have you tried another geoip service besides Google Maps? Like maxmind database (<http://www.maxmind.com>)?

~~~
krisrak
I created a similar project to share/track real-time location as you move, its
an iPhone app that shares location and generates a url that can be opened by
friends on any browser. It not just static location, but will show your real-
time location, if you move, then the marker on url moves.

Check out <http://shaloc.com> use invite code "hackernews" to get iPhone app
promo code to download. Give feedback, thanks.

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jordanmessina
This is similar to my weekend project <http://mobileply.com> although I
currently have sequential IDs not codes. I'm soon going to implement unique
codes like this. Mobileply would actually do real time tracking too.

We could never find a way to make money from this type of app. It always
seemed that the use case only would come up a few times a year and people
would never remember your service over others. What were you planning on doing
with this?

~~~
cfontes
How many users do you have now ? how many requests per day ?

It's a nice tool, maybe some marketing ?

What you used to create the site ? nice design !

~~~
jordanmessina
About 2000 people have used it. Like I said, can't really call them a user
since this tool is useful maybe 4 times a year. We built it for ourselves
because we just moved to Pittsburgh, PA and couldn't find our way around this
city.

We haven't tried any marketing, we're not even sure what niche we're serving
still.

It's built using Django, although I'm probably going to rewrite it to use
either node or Tornado + web sockets. It's kind of a hodgepodge implementation
right now that was built just as a proof of concept to start.

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bpeters
Fun little tool. Have you thought about letting users select a location on a
map and then generating a code to send out? Could be used to make interesting
Geo-games amongst friends or have a code that reveals a location of a secret
party!

This could be used for businesses to embed in their site, and when they send
out advertisements with a code, users would have to log on to their site and
get the secret location.

~~~
iqster
The advert/geo-game idea seems cool! Thank you.

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RiderOfGiraffes

      > We're sorry. Your browser does not allow
      > us to retrieve your current location.
    

Well, I guess that was inevitable for me. On all three of the browsers I use.
It seems like a fun little tool, but I can't play. 8-(

Anyone care to publish here the codes it generates for them?

~~~
bdfh42
Sure 13-24-90

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Huh - cool. We're actually in the same country, just about 40 miles apart.

~~~
bdfh42
We moved back to the UK last year after 10 years in France - quite enjoying
living in a small English country town after the very rural life in SW France.

Nice to know there are some local (ish) HNrs

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Tycho
Small quibble, but could you make it so the hyphens in the code aren't
necessary? (or at least so you don't have to manually type them)

Oh and it was deadly accurate when I tried on iPad. I could see this being
useful if you've lost track of people at a carnival or something

~~~
iqster
Yup ... I'll make the hyphens optional. Thanks for the feedback!

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BoppreH
Very simple, almost no moving parts, working well.

I just found the URL strange. Is this temporary?

~~~
iqster
I wanted nearcode ... but someone already had that. Plus the idea of the noun
"near-code" seemed to confuse people.

I'll keep it up on the URL since it doesn't cost me much to run this thing.

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jporta
13-16-95, 64-67-64.

You need to make unique codes for same locations.

~~~
iqster
I did think about that but the messages that you leave someone are likely
going to be different, and hence you need different codes.

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xobgub
FYI: Glympse already does this with a pretty UI and all.

~~~
iqster
Glympse looks pretty sweet. Thanks for the pointer.

The point of this tool is to be extremely simple (no accounts or login).
Continuous tracking is often useful but it kills batteries and raises some
additional privacy concerns.

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lalitm
incorrect location by about 15 kms

~~~
iqster
I'm just using the location given by the browser (it might be IP-based, wifi-
based, GPS-based etc). I am surprised how inaccurate it is _sometimes_ on my
desktop. Thankfully, I get relatively accurate location most of the time on my
phone.

