Mobtropolis

Mobtropolis hires city searchers

2008-04-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

Hello mobtropolitians! This time around, it's a feature that I've been meaning to do for such a long time now, that I'm glad I finally got around to it. In fact, it was harder choosing how to do it, than actually doing it.

Mobtropolis now has basic search! The search will get better over time, but for now, it can help you find all those little scenes that you wished to have seen, but didn't want to dig through pages browsing for it.

It's like adding a new highway to a city--you get to go where you want to go, but faster.

The search will only get better. Right now, it just does keywords of the scene titles and descriptions. In the future, it will let you search in some more flexible and novel ways. Look forward to it!

- The Mayor

The city has a new coat of paint

2008-03-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well, if you haven't noticed, mobtropolis got a new coat of paint. It's been a long time coming, and for a long while, the city was pretty ugly. After some fundraising and extra gnomes to do volunteer work, we were able to get a cleaner, fresher, and more fun look to the city.

In addition, the focus is now a little bit different. It's more "me-centric", where there's more focus on YOU, and what YOUR adventures are, but all the while being able to keep tabs on what interesting things OTHER people are doing.

You can also see what people have commented on your sceneshots under the "news" section. That way, you no longer have to go hunting and pecking for what other people have said about your adventures.
The facebook app is now converted to look like the external webpage, so you get all the same happy fun goodness on without leaving facebook.

In addition, unlike those other annoying facebook apps, mobtropolis doesn't require your friends to sign up or install the app in order to see what you've accomplished. Double plus!

There are some things that went away, however. Safaris are going to take a hiatus and come back in another form.

And the gallery (aka Judy Mode), is missing for a little bit, but will soon be back after a slight makeover.

However, to make up for it, there's the introduction of "Kevin". He's actually a new citizen working at his new city post. He's not a mascot, as much as a "City Evangelist". I always get a laugh when I look at him, since he looks so eager to take a picture.

Well, enjoy the new mobtropolis, and keep living a life worth living.

- The Mayor

Mobtropolis now accessible through facebook

2008-03-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

It took a little bit of code wrangling, but the Mayor pulled a couple of strings, and now you can add Mobtropolis as an app on Facebook!

Mobtropolis's focus isn't really about building a social network, but undeniably, friends are what bring meaning to our escapades, because they care what we do, and we like to bring them along when we go on a scene. Besides, who else are we going to ~~brag~~ share our accomplishments with?

However, as we already have different social networks for our dogs, our jobs, and our friends, it doesn't make sense to build another walled garden. This is why the Mayor has decided to leverage the facebook platform, so you can more easily trophy your accomplishments to your friends.

The facebook app is running off the same database as the web version. So what you do on the web version will show up in the facebook app, and vice versa. In addition, when you do things through the facebook app, your sceneshot uploads will show up on your mini-feed.

You can now also login to the web version of mobtropolis using your facebook login. All you have to do is click on the blue button, and if you're logged into facebook, it'll kick you right in.

If you still have the traditional mobtropolis account, you can still login, but it doesn't publish to your minifeed (yet).

You can merge your facebook and mobtropolis account through the facebook app, if you want things to be all together, instead of two different accounts.

Mobtropolis isn't about building out a social network, but using the ones you already have to let your friends know what you've done, and make it easier to grab your friends to go out and do something interesting with you. That way, you're well on your way to living life to the fullest with the ones that you care about. That's a step towards happiness, no?

Excited? You can view the app, or go to its about page for more info.

Sceneshots with geolocated goodness

2008-01-28T21:52:00.001-08:00

I'm pleased to announce that the follow up to adding a location to your scenes is being able to geolocate your sceneshots. Unlike scenes, you can edit and relocate your sceneshots whenever you want to your heart's desire. If you own the photo, you can simply enter the address or the GPS coordinates of where the photo was taken place on the sceneshot page. I've personally wanted this feature for a while now.

There will be more features out related to geolocated photos, so watch out for it in the coming days.

This is a small, but important step for Mobtropolis. While other photo sharing sites do have locations for their photos, none of it is associated with being able to find out where to do something interesting. This is one important piece of making a Clickable Earth.

Scenes now with location, location, location

2008-01-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

As some of you have noticed, Mobtropolis now has locations added to scenes. All you have to do is type an address (part of an address, or GPS coordinates), and it will put a pushpin on that place for you on the map. If the location isn't quite right, you'll have 15 minutes after your first submission to correct it.

This means that scenes can be location specific, which will add to helping people find where to do interesting things. It's one step along the way of making mobtropolis part of the Clickable Earth.

There's still some tweaking to do, as scenes without locations shouldn't have maps, but I wanted to get it out there first so that mobtropolitians can play with it. More location geo-goodness coming in the next couple of days...

Drink bubble tea

2007-10-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Bubble tea is a sweet frothy drink originating in Taiwan that's popular out on the West Coast that has slowly made its way across the country. Humongo straws and chewy tapioca balls are all part of the experience.

Drink an obscure soft drink

2007-10-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

Soft drinks pervade the globe, there is no doubt about that. Coke is probably the most widely recognized brand in the world. But how many of you have drank more obscure brands? You might be surprised by what you like.

Go to a famous monument in a state you've never been

2007-10-05T20:16:00.001-07:00

People like to put up monuments. Whether it's to commemorate heroics or tragedy you'll find oddities sprinkled about town. And yet, these are the sort of things we walk right by in the daily grind. From the rotating cube in at Univ of Michigan to the Atomic bomb mushroom in Univ of Chicago, there's always something to look, to play, and pose with for a photo op. And maybe, just maybe we'll remember the monument the next time we're at wikipedia, and learn a little bit of something about the world around us.

- Mayor of Mobtropolis

Feed a stranger's expired parking meter

2007-09-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Alas, it's almost inevitable that one of these days you'll end up with a parking ticket. You can blame it on Carl Magee of North Dakota for inventing them back in 1935. Like taxes, it's hard to see the common good when you get slapped with a $60 fine. Time to side with the little guy for once, and stick a quarter to the man--just don't let the meter maids catch you. Some of them run pretty fast.

- Mayor of Mobtropolis