Foreca.st Makes Checking-In With Friends A Lot Cooler
July 13, 2011
Tired of checking-in via Foursquare only to find none of your friends are nearby? Now a new app called Forecast is set to arrive that helps you tell your real life friends where you expect to be sometime in the future. The end-result could be a game-changer in the world of social networking.
Created by Hurricane Party, Inc., the app, which is in private beta, allows users to check out all the cool places your friends are going, or create your own “forecast” to share where you’ll be later in the day.
To create a forecast just select the place you're going and the time you plan to get there. That's it. You're done. You can even add some information to your forecast.
For example, you might tell your friends what type of drink (or how many) you plan on drinking when you arrive at your favorite bar.
Once your arrive, you can Check-In, thereby letting your friends know that you’ve arrived.
Unlike other check-in apps, however, Forecast is much more focused on the future than on what is happening right now. This change, according to the folks behind the app is significant.
They state:
It's the difference between a serendipitous connection and a missed opportunity.
Check-in apps are built partly on the myth of the serendipitous connection, the idea that when someone checks-in a nearby friend will decide to join them. But in practice this is an extremely rare occurrence.
Forecast solves these problems and delivers on the promise of the serendipitous connection. First, because a forecast is in the future it minimizes the need for my friend to be nearby. My friend now has the time to jump in a car and drive across town to meet me. Second, the more lead time I give my friend the more likely they will be able to make themselves available. And finally, because a forecast gives the anticipated time of arrival my friend can be reasonably confident that we'll both be at the same location at the same time.
Currently, users can only forecast events no more than 24 hours into the future. In addition, there is a limit of 25 miles surrounding your current location for which you can forecast. However, this limitation is expected to go away soon.
Hopefully, Forecast will be available to the masses very soon. To request an invite, simply download the free app and following its directions. You will need to have a Foursquare account to request an invite.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
