MaxxoMedia Digital Media and Entertainment Trends

There are a number of different services blooming as location-based mobile technology finally hits its stride, from Foursquare check-ins to augmented reality-enhanced surroundings courtesy of Layar and others. Flook (warning: iTunes link), a new entrant to the iPhone app store, takes a different, more whimsical approach to social location information.

Users are prompted to create “cards” at interesting locations by snapping a photo and adding a title and caption. You can find cards nearby you or around the world, “collect” them, comment on them, and follow the cards of people posting interesting locations. Plus, email a card or get directions to the location depicted from your current location, and track your total “Flook score” based on your activity within the app.

The interface is playful and fun to match the type of content Flook is hoping to capture: interesting, beautiful or otherwise curious tidbits in the world around you. Upon launching the app, “a colorful landscape of robots guides the user to browse or create,” which is just as unusual as it sounds (see thumbnail above right). Finding and creating cards are both easy processes, with the former handled by a simple finger swipe mechanism. Cards are automatically ordered by both “nearest and “best” so you’re more likely to stumble upon something good.