Location based services such as Foursquare are booming right now. You can check in on locations and earn points by doing so. Foursquare just crossed the one million user mark.
A new initiative along these lines is the application CauseWorld. Instead of checking into locations you can check in by just walking into a store and earn karmapoints by doing so. You can even scan products in stores that enable you to earn more karmapoints. These karmapoints actually turn into money which you can donate to your the cause of your choice. The next step is sharing your activities with your friends.
Karma works both ways, because the app is sponsored by large retailproducers such as Kraft foods. The checking in and scanning of products gives consumers the incentive to buy that specific product more easily.
It is a very interesting cause marketing collaboration where commercial and good cause come together in a social context. Unfortunately the application is available in the US only, but it demonstrates how location based applications are used in a creative way. We will definitely see more of these initiatives sprouting in the nearby future.
