LightPole Blog tag:blog.lightpole.net,2007-10-08://3 2008-10-14T19:06:12Z This is the LightPole blog, where you’ll find all the latest news, conversation, tips and tricks about our mobile discovery software for your phone. Movable Type Personal 4.1 Paper Magazine Launches Mobile Version of PaperMag's Tips For Today tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.18 2008-10-14T19:04:55Z 2008-10-14T19:06:12Z Leveraging LightPole's Movable Type geo-plugin GeoType, PAPERMAG, the online source for trendsetters in major cities around the world for 14 years, has launched a new Paper branded mobile application and three new LightPole channels: Tips for Today: PAPERMAG sifts... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ Leveraging LightPole's Movable Type geo-plugin GeoType, PAPERMAG, the online source for trendsetters in major cities around the world for 14 years, has launched a new Paper branded mobile application and three new LightPole channels:

papermaglauncher papermagmap

Tips for Today:
PAPERMAG sifts through thousands of events, handpicking the highlights in clubs, concerts, movies, readings, and everything else we love about New York City.

Bars:
PAPERMAG's bar aficionados are there on the scene to review newly opened venues around New York City.

Restaurants:
PAPERMAG sets the team loose to poke, prod and critique New York City's newest restaurants.

Go to PAPERMAG's website to sign up for the application and get PAPERMAG's updates and recommendations sent to your phone.

]]> Updated: GeoType 1.6.8 Plugin for MovableType ReadMe tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.11 2008-09-19T07:00:00Z 2008-09-19T22:06:31Z LightPole, Inc. September 18, 2008 This plugin has been updated to v1.6.8 This plugin allows you to associate locations with blog entries using Google Maps. Each blog entry can have a location (latitude, longitude), and a map can be shown... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ LightPole, Inc.
September 18, 2008

This plugin has been updated to v1.6.8

This plugin allows you to associate locations with blog entries using Google Maps. Each blog entry can have a location (latitude, longitude), and a map can be shown for the location. Also, a map can be shown which displays all of the locations for the entire blog. Locations can be found using addresses or by scrolling the map, so you do not need to find or lookup the coordinates for your location like many other plugins force you to do.

The plugin also allows for these blog entries to be published to mobile devices using the LightPole Publishing System.

Download the plugin click here.

]]> A. Installation Instructions

1. Copy the contents of the folder to your MovableType directory. Make sure that the directory structure remains intact.

2. Log in to the MovableType dashboard, or refresh the dashboard if you are already logged in. You should be prompted to "Upgrade". This will create the needed database tables.

3. Go to the Google Maps website to get an API Key. Put this API Key into the GeoType Sytem Plugin Settings (System Overview - Plugins).

4. Open the Header template (Design - Templates - Template Modules) and insert the <$MTGeoTypeHeader$> tag between the <head> and </head> tags. This will allow Google Maps to work on your site on all pages (the tag includes the needed Google Maps javascript and your API Key).

5. Modifiy the templates and include the tags in the desired locations (see section B: Using The Tags).

6. Create your new blog entries, or modify your existing blog entries to use the map. Make sure that the "Include a map with this entry" checkbox is checked if you want the blog entry to have a map associated with it.

B. Using GeoType and Tags

When an entry is saved with map location data, a lot of information is stored. Some tags are provided to make things very simple (such as including a map), while other tags are provided to access the specific location fields.

Note that you must use the <$MTGeoTypeHeader$> tag somewhere.

Entry Tags (must be placed within <MTEntries> tags)

<$MTGeoTypeLocationURL$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationHours$>

<$MTGeoRSS_Channel$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocation$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationLongitude$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationName$>

<$MTGeoRSS_Entry$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationDescription$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationPlaceId$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationPhone$>

<$MTGeoRSS_Namespace$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationId$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationCrossStreet$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationThumbnail$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationLatitude$

<$MTGeoTypeMap$>

<$MTGeoTypeLocationRating$>

<$MTGeoTypeCoords$>

<MTGeoTypeIfLocation>

<MTGeoTypeIfLocationExtended>

<MTGeoTypeLocations>

For further help and documentation please reference the GeoType Documentation

C. Creating a LightPole Compatible Feed

With a LightPole feed you can now make all of your geotagged entries available to mobile device users through the LightPole Geo-Browser.

LightPole needs two things to mobilize your blog: a lightpole XML feed and a sign up widget. LightPole reads this feed and creates a channel that your readers can subscribe to. To allow your readers to subscribe to your blog channel, you place a signup widget somewhere on your site that asks the reader for their mobile phone # and LightPole does the rest.

To create a LightPole Feed:

1. Create a new template under Index Templates. Make sure to name it lightpole, and make sure the filename ends with .xml (that is lightpole.xml).

2. Paste the code in templates/lightpole.tmpl and Save

3. Somewhere on your site, place the LightPole widget code below saved in templates/LightPole Embedded Widget.tmp. A good place would probably be above the subscribe widget. Do not change the code in the <div id="lightpole-id and the <script tags as this is critical in creating your LightPole Channel.

4. For blogs with columns of less than 230 pixels please use the PopUp version of the LightPole Widget saved in templates/LightPole PopUp Widget.tmpl.

]]> Trulia Launches! tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.17 2008-08-29T22:20:17Z 2008-09-15T20:42:44Z This week our first 'private label' partner, Trulia, launched their mobile initiative. This includes a version of our mobile client with Trulia branding. This is an exciting event for us since it is our first significant launch with a... Doug Klein http://www.lightpole.net/ This week our first 'private label' partner, Trulia, launched their mobile initiative. This includes a version of our mobile client with Trulia branding. This is an exciting event for us since it is our first significant launch with a partner utilizing our client and content network to deploy what is effectively a dedicated application.

Unlike our other public partners, who utilize our system in a more traditional content publishing manner, Trulia has actually delivered an interactive mobile application for the mobile real estate professional and consumer. As an application we can begin to take advantage of the interactive and messaging capabilities of the system that are part of the core underlying technology. A lot of design and development work really comes to play now, so it's a very rewarding week :)

]]> Best-of-breed vs mobile application suites tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.16 2008-07-26T00:11:00Z 2008-07-31T00:36:15Z In response to Antony Brydon's Post: Best-of-breed vs mobile application suites:I would never have thought to compare our system to a portal. I don't like portals. They're closed little worlds in which someone else decides what you can or... Doug Klein http://www.lightpole.net/

In response to Antony Brydon's Post: Best-of-breed vs mobile application suites:

I would never have thought to compare our system to a portal. I don't like portals. They're closed little worlds in which someone else decides what you can or cannot see. This is exactly the opposite of what we are providing at LightPole. We are building enabling technology that allows a much wider variety of content and applications to be delivered to the mobile phone. You could think about it as bringing web 2.0 to mobile (versus previous attempts at bringing "the web" to the phone). Let me explain.

]]> There are lots of attributes to what people like to refer to as "Web 2.0". The one that we are leveraging is the separation of presentation and content on most modern web sites. Web sites are now built with a presentation front end (e.g. RoR application running on/in an Apache httpd) talking to a database backend. As these system have matured, standardized external services have evolved out of them. These include RSS feeds and web service APIs. Our system takes advantage of these to create a "friction free" vehicle to deliver that content to mobile devices. Rather than face the painful (technically and financially) task of dealing with the multiplicity of handsets, operating systems and carriers, our content partners merely "publish." We take it from there.

By utilizing modern web standards and our high performance content switching infrastructure we are able to make it possible for all content players to participate, allowing for the scale of a Yahoo! class publisher while creating the low entry economics that opens the market for the individual blogger. This is far different from a portal. We do not set the content or control the user choices. Indeed, our system already supports addition of geo-tagged content by the user with a simple cut and paste of the appropriate URL. Hardly a closed portal.

We do believe that our content partners will want to customize the content experience for their users, however. We have crafted our platform so that our partners can deliver content with the graphics and specific user interaction that fits their brand. But unlike a portal, this is open to all of our content owners.

That said, I do still believe that there are plenty of arguments for dedicated applications. You can absolutely tune the experience for the utmost consumer pleasure. But what if everyone on the web had to write a custom application to reach the user? Do you think that blogs such as this would have ever reached critical mass? I doubt it. The idea of services such as ours is to open the mobile opportunity for new ideas and applications. While possibly compromising the ultimate experience, we allow the type of innovation that brought us so much of the rich experience we call the web today.

]]> LightPole Makes Official Foray into Real Estate Market tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.15 2008-07-22T13:00:00Z 2008-07-22T17:36:49Z Provides location-aware mobile discovery solutions to Trulia and Brownstoner San Francisco — July 22, 2008 — In conjunction with the Inman News Real Estate Connect Conference, LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider for content publishers, today announced a focus... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ Provides location-aware mobile discovery solutions to Trulia and Brownstoner

San Francisco — July 22, 2008 — In conjunction with the Inman News Real Estate Connect Conference, LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider for content publishers, today announced a focus on the real estate vertical with Trulia and Brownstoner. These innovative partners are building solutions on the LightPole mobile platform to provide their customers with unprecedented access to a wealth of real-time real estate information, no matter where they are. By offering solutions that address the entire spectrum of the market, the LightPole system demonstrates the scale and capabilities needed for category leaders such as Trulia, while offering the economics necessary to support hyper-local “long tail” players like Brownstoner.

]]> Trulia (www.trulia.com), the best place to start a real estate search, is the fastest-growing U.S. real estate Web site, with approximately 5 million unique visitors per month. Brownstoner (www.brownstoner.com) is a site about Brooklyn real estate and renovation, and all the tangential topics that impact life inside and outside the home in Brooklyn. Launched in October 2004, the site currently has about 150,000 unique visitors per month. Over the coming months, the number of third-party LightPole-powered solutions is expected to expand substantially. For more information, or to get LightPole on your phone, please visit www.lightpole.net.

“These vertically-focused LightPole-powered mobile applications represent the first of what we hope to be a big step forward in the evolution of our business, ” said Doug Klein, LightPole CEO. “By integrating with LightPole’s mobile platform, the real estate market can demonstrate continued innovation in providing best-of-breed solutions to its customers and deliver the necessary capability of being able to search for a home when you’re on the go. ”

“Given our focus on the local real estate market, we have long thought that having a means to mobilize our content in a way that offers a truly individualized, dynamic and location-relevant experience would further entice our loyal followers, ” said Jonathan Butler, founder of Brownstoner Media LLC. “Over time, the ability of our readers to have access to Brownstoner.com content while on-the-go will prove invaluable to building and participating in the Brownstoner community.”

About LightPole

LightPole enables publishers to easily extend the content they already have to reach new markets and build new communities. The service supports a variety of business models, including subscriptions, transactions and advertising. Publishers can configure their offerings to allow readers to post comments, share links, and meet online. No special programming or expensive IT investments are required.

LightPole already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time, including plans to release a version for the Apple iPhone later this year.

Founded in January 2007, LightPole is headquartered in San Francisco and has a development center in China.

###

LightPole media contact:

Kim Barsi
kim@lightpole.net
+1 (415) 516-5863

]]> How Microsoft Can Succeed In Mobile tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.14 2008-06-03T00:00:24Z 2008-06-03T00:11:50Z As seen in Forbes: Ultimate Showdown: Microsoft Vs. Google June 2, 2008 As a start-up focused on delivering services to the next generation mobile Internet devices, we are constantly amazed at the failure of Microsoft to repeat its Windows and... Doug Klein http://www.lightpole.net/ As seen in Forbes: Ultimate Showdown: Microsoft Vs. Google June 2, 2008

As a start-up focused on delivering services to the next generation mobile Internet devices, we are constantly amazed at the failure of Microsoft to repeat its Windows and Office success in the mobile world. And the problem is just that: Microsoft has a history of seeing all opportunities within the narrow definition of its existing world and past wins. Repeatedly they have seen new devices, for example, as simply "little PCs." This has led to a long litany of disappointments in handhelds that will repeat unless a new approach is realized.

]]> In contrast, Google is more likely to foster the same sort of innovative and open environment in mobile that has succeeded so well in the Web. Real success in mobile is possible and we find it incredible that in one short year Apple has gone from no presence to being arguably the defining standard for what will finally displace the typical mobile handset. Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt's spot on the Apple board notwithstanding, there is no natural relationship between Apple and Google that precludes a Microsoft-Google alliance. Wouldn't this be a more rational outcome?

Think back to Microsoft and IBM. There was certainly no love lost between them. IBM could have easily taken a very competitive position against Microsoft; indeed, the OS/2 team would certainly have expected such a reaction. Instead, IBM partnered and became one of the dominant suppliers of PCs and PC technologies, enabled by the Microsoft core capabilities. Microsoft and Google should be no different. Microsoft doesn’t sell hardware but it could partner with Google in a game-changing move in mobile by bringing new economics to phone software and services.

Our fundamental belief is that the mobile world has been completely devoid of the innovation of the Web because of economic and technical barriers. As we work to eliminate these, Microsoft is missing an opportunity that should rightfully belong to it, given the many years of effort behind Windows Mobile.

]]> LightPole Launches v1.2 tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.13 2008-05-14T20:23:38Z 2008-05-14T20:50:08Z With the release of v1.2 of LightPole, you can now not only look for interesting information around were you are or where you want to be but participate in developing channels of content and contribute points of interest to... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ With the release of v1.2 of LightPole, you can now not only look for interesting information around were you are or where you want to be but participate in developing channels of content and contribute points of interest to content communities. We have also integrated LightPole with Yahoo! Fire Eagle.

So what is this all about?

]]> My Channels
You can build your own private channels from existing web sources and add them to your mobile devices by simply copying the URLs into the LightPole interface. For example, if a you have a community tagged map on Google’s My Maps, LightPole can use the KML feed as a channel and provide you with a mobile version of this collection of POIs. Over time, your submissions of interesting channels maybe added to the LightPole-sponsored list.

You can find My Channels at: http://www.lightpole.net/user/my_channels

Mobile Posting
Content publishers can now accept user-generated Points-of-Interest (POIs). If the channel owner sets the “Accept POI Post” option, any POIs formerly added only to My Places list will now be submitted back via Post to the content owner’s website for the benefit of the entire community. HotSpotr and MappyHour are the first LightPole content partners to take advantage of this new feature.

Screenshot0001 Screenshot0002

Fire Eagle Integration
With v1.2 and LightPole's integration with Yahoo! Fire Eagle, a service that allows anyone to share their location with sites and services online, Mobile Discovery™ is more a reality than ever before. If you associate your account with Fire Eagle and you changes your location through LightPole or another Fire Eagle-enabled application, that information is then stored for other trusted applications and sites to access or update automatically.

You can associate your account with Fire Eagle on the profile page at: http://www.lightpole.net/user/prefs
And read more about Fire Eagle at: http://fireeagle.yahoo.net/

]]> LightPole Announces Partnership with Six Apart, Launches Geo-Type Plug-In for Movable Type tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.12 2008-05-13T13:00:00Z 2008-05-13T16:26:48Z Company adds well-known bloggers to content partner network Burlingame, CA — May 13, 2008 — In conjunction with O’Reilly’s Where 2.0 Conference, LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced a partnership... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ Company adds well-known bloggers to content partner network

Burlingame, CA — May 13, 2008 — In conjunction with O’Reilly’s Where 2.0 Conference, LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced a partnership with Six Apart, the world’s leading blogging software and services company. LightPole, working with Six Apart Services, co-developed a plug-in, which allows Movable Type bloggers to geo-tag their entries, add and manage related points of interest (POIs) and publish feeds that can be used to create LightPole channels – seamlessly delivering content to their readers’ mobile phones. The Geo-Type Plug-In for Movable Type is available immediately from plugins.movabletype.org.

]]> “This is the year of ‘where’ and LightPole is leading the charge into the location-based technology frontier by using familiar tools to bring the web to mobile phones,” said Doug Klein, CEO of LightPole. “Our work with Six Apart provides a natural extension to the world’s leading blog platforms and, in one simple stroke, brings the blogging community into the rapidly emerging geo-Web and ecosystem of location-based, mobile services – two super hot markets.”

“Movable Type is designed from the ground up to be extensible by bloggers, designers, publishers and developers,” said Michael Sippey, VP Products at Six Apart. “We’re thrilled that LightPole has built on top of the Movable Type platform to enable sites powered by Movable Type to easily geotag and distribute their content to mobile devices.”

Movable Type is a dynamic publishing platform that powers some of the largest enterprises and media organizations in the world, enabling them to build cutting-edge blogs and websites and foster rich, interactive communities. Along with today’s announcement, LightPole added four well-established Movable Type blogs to its growing list of content partners. The resulting new channels and first to take advantage of the Geo-Type Plug-In for Movable Type include:

  • Brownstoner (www.brownstoner.com) is a site about Brooklyn real estate and renovation, and all the tangential topics that impact life inside and outside the home in Brooklyn. Launched in October 2004, the site currently has about 150,000 unique visitors per month.
  • Gothamist (www.gothamist.com) owns and operates the most popular network of city blogs on the Internet today. Founded in 2003 and led by the NYC flagship site Gothamist.com , the network includes 14 websites in five countries, each covering local news, events, food, and entertainment for an avid audience of young urbanites. The network has grown year-over-year by more than 100 percent and currently has 10.2 million monthly page views.
  • Papermag.com (www.papermag.com), PAPER Magazine’s online publication, has been the online source for trendsetters in major cities around the world for 14 years, featuring the latest happenings and goings on in fashion, art, music, design and nightlife.
  • Serious Eats (www.seriouseats.com) is a website focused on celebrating and sharing food enthusiasm through blogs and online community.

For more insight on the benefits of LightPole integration, please visit www.lightpole.net/press/press-quotes.html for a collection of partner quotes.

About LightPole

LightPole enables publishers to easily extend the content they already have to reach new markets and build new communities, providing mobile device users with unprecedented access to a wealth of real-time information about what they care about, where they are. The service supports a variety of business models, including subscriptions, transactions and advertising. Publishers can configure their offerings to allow readers to post comments, share links, and meet online. No special programming or expensive IT investments are required.

LightPole already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time, including plans to release a version for the Apple iPhone later this year.

LightPole’s mission is to make it easy for content owners to distribute location-specific information to mobile devices and to engage mobile users in interactive communities. Founded in January 2007, LightPole is headquartered in San Francisco and has a development center in China.

###

LightPole media contact:

Kim Barsi
kim@lightpole.net
+1 (415) 516-5863

]]> LightPole Announces Integration with Yahoo! Fire Eagle Geo-location Platform tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.7 2008-04-23T13:00:00Z 2008-05-13T00:02:12Z Mobile Posting and My Channels Features Among Other New LightPole Enhancements San Francisco — April 23, 2008 — LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced integration with Yahoo! Fire Eagle, a... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ Mobile Posting and My Channels Features Among Other New LightPole Enhancements

San Francisco — April 23, 2008 — LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced integration with Yahoo! Fire Eagle, a personal location service platform. LightPole also added the Mobile Posting and My Channels features to its flagship release - two new capabilities that provide users with a more interactive and content-rich experience from their mobile device, no matter where they are or what they’re doing. The latest enhancements can be trialed at beta.lightpole.net.

]]> “LightPole’s new capabilities, along with the tremendous efforts of our partners, have finally brought the integrated web and mobile experience to a point of significant relevance,” said Doug Klein, CEO of LightPole. “The mobile user now has all the tools necessary to be a fully engaged participant in the Web 2.0 lifestyle - a real turning point in the evolution of web services.”

LightPole for Fire Eagle
With LightPole’s latest release and its integration with Yahoo! Fire Eagle, a service that allows anyone to share their location with sites and services online, Mobile Discovery™ is more a reality than ever before. If a user changes their location through LightPole or another Fire Eagle-enabled application, that information is then stored for other trusted applications and sites to access or update automatically.

“We're delighted to welcome LightPole as one of our first Fire Eagle developers,” said Tom Coates, product lead for Yahoo! Brickhouse. “LightPole’s Fire Eagle integration greatly enhances our growing gallery of Fire Eagle-enabled location-based services.”

Advancements in Personalization and Interactivity
With the newest release, LightPole will enhance the mobile device experience by allowing users to accomplish the following:

Mobile Posting - Content publishers will be able to accept user-generated Points-of-Interest (POIs). If the channel owner sets the “Accept POI Post” option, any POIs formerly added only to a user’s personal list will now be submitted back to the content owner’s website for the benefit of the entire community. HotSpotr and MappyHour will be the first LightPole content partners to take advantage of this new feature.

My Channels - Users will be able to build their own private channels from existing web sources and add them to their mobile devices by simply copying the URLs into the LightPole interface. For example, if a user has a community tagged map on Google’s My Maps, LightPole can input the KML feed as a channel and provide that user with a mobile version of this collection of POIs. Over time, user submissions of interesting private channels will be added to the LightPole-sponsored list.

About LightPole

LightPole enables publishers to easily extend the content they already have to reach new markets and build new communities, providing mobile device users with unprecedented access to a wealth of real-time information about what they care about, where they are. The service supports a variety of business models, including subscriptions, transactions and advertising. Publishers can configure their offerings to allow readers to post comments, share links, and meet online. No special programming or expensive IT investments are required.

LightPole already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time, including plans to release a version for the Apple iPhone later this year.

LightPole’s mission is to make it easy for content owners to distribute location-specific information to mobile devices and to engage mobile users in interactive communities. Founded in January 2007, LightPole is headquartered in San Francisco and has a development center in China.

###

LightPole media contact:

Kim Barsi
kim@lightpole.net
+1 (415) 516-5863

]]> Wikipedia for your Mobile Phone tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.8 2008-04-21T20:40:37Z 2008-05-08T06:56:28Z LightPole has just launched the Geo-Wikipedia channel that presents over 1.2 Million geo-tagged Wikipedia entries for your mobile phone as a LightPole Geo-Browser channel.... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ LightPole has just launched the Geo-Wikipedia channel that presents over 1.2 Million geo-tagged Wikipedia entries for your mobile phone as a LightPole Geo-Browser channel.

]]> The Geo-Wikipedia channel is powered by GeoNames.org API. The GeoNames geographical database is available for download free of charge under a creative commons attribution license. It contains over eight million geographical names and consists of 6.5 million unique features whereof 2.2 million populated places and 1.8 million alternate names. All features are categorized into one out of nine feature classes and further subcategorized into one out of 645 feature codes. (more statistics ...).

The data is accessible free of charge through a number of webservices and a daily database export. GeoNames is already serving up to over 11 million web service requests per day.

GeoNames is integrating geographical data such as names of places in various languages, elevation, population and others from various sources. All lat/long coordinates are in WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984). Users may manually edit, correct and add new names using a user friendly wiki interface.

GeoNames has Ambassadors in many countries who assist with their help and expertise. Meet the GeoNames Team.

]]> LightPole Debuts End-to-End Publishing System for Location-Aware Mobile Discovery tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.6 2008-03-18T10:00:00Z 2008-04-28T18:55:15Z Company launches with support from Alloy Ventures and broad array of content partners San Francisco — March 18, 2008 — LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced availability of the... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ Company launches with support from Alloy Ventures and broad array of content partners

San Francisco — March 18, 2008 — LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced availability of the LightPole Publishing System, a complete solution that enables publishers, bloggers and other content providers to distribute content to mobile devices, and engage those users in two-way communication.

]]> “The next great revolution in communication will take place on the screens of mobile phones,” said Doug Klein, CEO of LightPole. “The emergence of smart devices, true Web 2.0 services and a suitable network infrastructure has allowed LightPole to be at the forefront of an economic disruption in mobile much like what happened with the Web years ago. LightPole’s end-to-end publishing system makes it easy for everyone — from content publishers to mobile phone users themselves — to participate.”

As a part of LightPole’s introduction, the company also announced a Series A round of financing lead by Alloy Ventures. Alloy’s early-stage investment will be used largely for business development and product marketing efforts.

“Each year we invest in a small number of entrepreneurial ideas and young companies,” said John Shoch, partner at Alloy Ventures. “LightPole made the cut by being diligent in developing its technology first and then proving to us through clear differentiation and early adopter engagements that the market conditions exist for real success.”

Shoch will join the LightPole board of directors, along with Klein and Bill Carrico (founder of Bridge Communications, Network Computing Devices, Precept and Packet Design).

Content from Leading Web Publishers

LightPole enables publishers to easily extend the content they already have to reach new markets and build new communities, providing mobile device users with unprecedented access to a wealth of real-time information about what they care about, where they are. The service supports a variety of business models, including subscriptions, transactions and advertising. Publishers can configure their offerings to allow readers to post comments, share links, and meet online.No special programming or expensive IT investments are required. LightPole launches with eight third-party solutions built on its new mobile infrastructure, from partners including:

Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) — leveraging the published application programming interface (API), LightPole automatically provides Yahoo!Local content to all mobile device users through a channel provided at account set-up; LightPole also intends to be a leading developer of Yahoo!’s recently announced Fire Eagle, a service that allows anyone to share their location with sites and services online

Yelp! (www.yelp.com) — is a site where people write reviews about local businesses; LightPole has used its API to integrate local Yelp! information with the LightPole mobile experience by having consumers text GETYELP to 41411 or going to get.lightpole.net/yelp

Platial (www.platial.com) — a free online mapping resource where millions of people around the world share and discover all kinds of places now enables mobility of its user maps through LightPole

MappyHour (www.mappyhour.com) — an interactive bar guide that shares Happy Hour locations throughout the world can now bring that content direct to your mobile device from the LightPole application downloadable from the MappyHour site

HotSpotr (www.hotspotr.com) — the online service that identifies laptop-friendly locations with free WiFi, complete with a user rating system providing critical information such as availability of power outlets, can now bring that content direct to your mobile device from the LightPole application downloadable from the HotSpotr site

Heyday Books (www.heydaybooks.com) — is a nonprofit organization that specializes in books and other educational projects that foster an understanding of the history, literature, art, environment, social issues, and culture of California and the West; the book Gables and Fables, a portrait of San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood,is now available as a mobile channel through LightPole and via a download from their site

Bathroom Diaries (www.thebathroomdiaries.com) — the world’s largest database of restroom locations now enables mobility of its content through LightPole

Zvents (www.zvents.com) — the local search engine for discovering things to do, places to go and people to see — anytime and anywhere — now enables mobility of its content through LightPole

For more insight on the benefits of LightPole integration, please visit www.lightpole.net/press/press/press-quotes.html for a collection of partner quotes. Over the coming months, the number of third-party LightPole solutions is expected to expand substantially.

LightPole already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time.

For more information, or to get LightPole on your phone, please visit www.lightpole.net.

About LightPole

LightPole’s mission is to make it easy for content owners to distribute location-specific information to mobile browsers and to engage mobile phone users — now counted in hundreds of millions — in interactive communities. Founded in January 2007, LightPole is headquartered in San Francisco and has a development center in China.

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LightPole media contact:

Kim Barsi
kim@lightpole.net
+1 (415) 516-5863

]]> Announcing LightPole Version 1.1 tag:blog.lightpole.net,2008://3.5 2008-01-11T17:02:07Z 2008-01-11T17:02:33Z We are pleased to announce the availability of our second major release. This release includes many enhancements and fixes, primarily aimed at improving the usability and performance of the system in general, and in increasing the flexibility to support... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ We are pleased to announce the availability of our second major release. This release includes many enhancements and fixes, primarily aimed at improving the usability and performance of the system in general, and in increasing the flexibility to support an increasingly diverse and interesting set of publishing partners.

A major enhancement in this release is our first international support. With 1.1 we now support European phone numbers and maps. Several of our existing channels currently have rich support across Europe already — try locating a good watering hole with MappyHour!

We have also made numerous improvements to our website. If you have not logged into your web account, please try it and look at our other available channels. Simply use your phone and PIN as your login to see your personal LightPole pages (Click here if you have forgotten your PIN).

Updating your application

If you have already updated your phone client, run the LightPole application and it should automatically inform you that an update is available and you if you would like to update the application. Follow the prompts and the LightPole application will guide you through the process.

]]> LightPole is Live tag:blog.lightpole.net,2007://3.4 2007-10-11T21:55:31Z 2008-05-12T22:30:29Z We have just launched our location aware Mobile Discovery publishing system and consumer focused mobile application. The LightPole service makes publishing geo-contextual content as easy as blogging. Through LightPole, publishers can reach mobile users, leveraging the publishing tools already... Marcus http://www.lightpole.net/ LightPoleScreen LightPoleHomeScreen

We have just launched our location aware Mobile Discovery publishing system and consumer focused mobile application. The LightPole service makes publishing geo-contextual content as easy as blogging. Through LightPole, publishers can reach mobile users, leveraging the publishing tools already in place. No advanced programming or heavy IT investments are required. Distribution can be supported by ads, subscriptions, transactions, or other models. Mobile phone users can select channels of geo-contextual content, post comments and annotations, and record their own Points of Interest.

The LightPole service already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time.

Consumers can download the LightPole mobile browser from LightPole's content partners' sites: MappyHour (a community driven site of over 43,000 Happy Hour spots around the world) or HotSpotr (a community driven site with over 6000 entries showing which cafes have free WiFi ) or sign up for the private beta at www.lightpole.net.

We also published a Yelp! mobile channel which allows users to search and view Yelp! reviews with the LightPole mobile browser.

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