Microblogging with BrightKite Part II

So why do I find BrightKite so useful?

I like to use Twitter when I am traveling, so that family and friends on both ends of the journey can keep an eye on us. It is a small thing, but surprisingly, I take comfort in knowing that if the worst happens, at least there will be a last tweet from which to send out a search party.

With BrightKite, my roadtrip updates look like this:

and this:

I also like BrightKite’s mapping capability, especially when using BK via SMS on the iPhone. Once you check-in to a city text @City, State, you can then search for local businesses text ?Business Name. You will then receive a list of addresses and you can select which one you want. Don’t tell BK, but I use this SMS option frequently, even when I’m not updating, as it is faster than waiting for my iPhone’s Google Map to load.

So does BrightKite make Twitter obsolete?
No, Twitter’s frequent downtime makes Twitter obsolete not by any means. If I just want to share a random thought that isn’t specific to my location, I still use Twitter.

I’m also careful not to perturb my TwitterBuds with boring check-ins. Unless I’m using BK to post a note or a picture, my basic check-ins stay on the BK platform. I have witnessed other users send their check-ins to Twitter and it quickly becomes spam-like. How interesting is it to just see an address?

BK does have a few areas that need tweaking:

It would really add to the sense of community if users were able to comment on each note or photo directly. I’m hoping this is another goody that BK has in the works, as it will make their microblogging platform more like a true blog, in that each note or photo can become a conversation with comments from other users.

Last but not least, ocasionally BK’s mapping fails, which can be pretty darn irritating. Twice I have tried checking in to Never, Neverland but BK’s map just can’t seem to find it. Again, BK is only in the Beta, so I’m sure that when they work out all the bugs, it will have no problem locating Never, Neverland, Point of No Return, or Denial.