Google Finally Integrates Dodgeball. Adds new Mapping

Dodgeball.com made their first public changes in a long time yesterday when they - well, Google - integrated the service with Google accounts.

They also changed the logged-in homepage from the quickly irrelevant introductory Flash animation to a status update on recent check-ins from your network with an associated Google map. Will we start seeing advertising on that map? Hmm, maybe Google does have plans for making money off this acquisition after all.

I'm currently in 3rd place in Minneapolis or check-ins in the last 10 days. Darn Jenni with an "i" is impossible to catch. Brian S., it looks like Tim D. took you down. Time for some bar hopping.

Here are a few things I'd still like to see Dodgeball do next:

1. Create a mobile version of the site. A 500KB+ homepage is painful to download on a mobile device for loading new venues.

2. Pre-load venues. The service would be MUCH easier to use if users didn't have to manually enter new venues each time they went somewhere new.

3. Add a SMS based rating system. Let users submit a star rating or review as a reply to the check-in confirmation message.

Aaron, Dodgeball uses SMS for communications. Users check in with Dodgeball from destinations and Dodgeball sends a broadcast SMS message to the user's network of friends. No special permissions are needed and it works with any phone with SMS capabilities, which is the vast majority of phones on the market today.

Comments

1. Posted by: Aaron Ireland on October 23, 2006 7:12 PM:

Dodgeball.com Technology

What type of programming or technology is dodgeball.com using? I understand the basis but confused on how they are able use a mobile device to check-in and out of venues. Does this require special permission from mobile carriers to allow Dodgeball.com to use the phone as a gateway?

Required fields marked with: *
Name*:

Email Address*:

URL:
Remember personal info?

Comments*:

HTML Tags you can use in your posts:
<b>Bold</b> = Bold
<i>Italicized</i> = Italicized
<a href="http://www.othersite.com">Link to Other Site</a> = Link to Other Site

Please keep comments on-topic. Contact authors or other commenters
directly for off-topic conversations.

Notify me of future comments via e-mail

Technology Evangelist Digest - Free Newsletter

Sign up for the free Technology Evangelist Digest to receive daily updates, editorials, and practical advice on emerging technology trends in hardware, software, webware, marketing and beyond.

Technology Evangelist Digest will keep you up to date on the technology trends that will help make you more productive and efficient both in business and your personal life.

Let's face it: If you made it to this line, you must have found something valuable on this page, right? Think about how cool it would be to have something free and interesting to read every day from Technology Evangelist by signing up today.

1. Fill in your email below,
2. Then click on the confirmation email you receive.
3. That's it. Your first Technology Evangelist Digest will arrive within 24 hours.