HipGeo Debuts Only Free App to Automatically Create Location-Based Story Streams From Photos, Video and Text

Virtual Journals Transform Sharing Via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest; Adds Photo and Video Crowd Sourcing and Broadcasting

Free HipGeo App (Graphic: Business Wire)

Free HipGeo App (Graphic: Business Wire)

FULLERTON, Calif.--()--HipGeo today announced the launch of the HipGeo app and website with full video capability. HipGeo now takes the “one-off” photos, video and text shared on social networks, and for the first time, instantly transforms these elements into rich virtual storytelling journals that can then be automatically shared on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, within the HipGeo community, or via selective email sharing. Whether capturing local experiences or travels around the world, HipGeo’s mapmation and time and location-stamped virtual journals, inspire and enrich discovery and social communication. And only HipGeo’s crowd-sourcing and broadcast platform allows for people to share photos and videos based on an event or location they share.

HipGeo enhances social network and private sharing experiences by grouping together disparate mobile photos, videos and text into a location and storytelling stream. Only HipGeo groups these three elements together into experiences that tell a cohesive story complete with a Trip Player and Day Map that display your movements between taking photos, videos and writing about each location’s experiences.

You can choose to upload pictures and videos while at a location or load an unlimited number of photos and videos later. If you’re out of the country and have turned off your data services to avoid charges or if Wi-Fi isn’t available, HipGeo allows you to post in background mode, automatically saving your journals and posting them when Wi-Fi is available, or when you’re back in your data plan home country. Similarly, when you are in a low signal area, HipGeo caches your videos and photos to be uploaded when Wi-Fi is available or when the signal is stronger.

In addition to the HipGeo app, the HipGeo online community lets you find inspiration from the experiences of others, becoming part of a virtual village of local and long distance travelers. You can discover and research locations to visit or simply enjoy the adventures of others. If desired, you can communicate with other community members to share experiences and advice. HipGeo automatically combines videos shot by multiple users at the same location or event and inserts them into “place journals,” allowing everyone to see each other’s footage from multiple perspectives, times and dates. For example, if four friends go to a concert and all use HipGeo, they can easily see each other’s photos, videos and comments, as well as the public videos anyone else shoots at the same concert. HipGeo also lets you create crowd-sourced posts and virtual journals based on the geographic regions you’re interested in.

“We believe that the most memorable experiences—those we want to capture, share and inspire others with—are typically closely meshed to a physical place,” said Rich Rygg, co-founder of HipGeo. “As a result, an app and a community must enable physical and emotional context. Whether it’s a local bike ride, dinner at a new restaurant or a trip across the world, HipGeo is the unifying bond that ties your captured mobile memories, with your location and automatically enriches the connections you make with others.”

Technology that Links Mobile Assets, Location and Sharing

HipGeo’s geo-aware socially linked narratives are based on an app and server-based proprietary mobile recording and broadcast platform. HipGeo’s server technology collects clouds of geographic points and organizes them into a user narrative without any user intervention. It does this by automatically detecting user movements and stops. It then tags photos, video and text with the appropriate locations and routes. Over 10 million cloud points have been collected to date through HipGeo user experiences. HipGeo’s app technology consists of Passive Recording which records where you are—even when you aren’t using your mobile camera. It then switches to Active Recording when you begin camera use and collects points in two accuracy modes—Places and Places/Routes. Additionally, HipGeo filtering reduces data upload, saving on data plan charges and battery consumption.

The HipGeo app is free and can be found in the Apple App store. Join the HipGeo community and learn more at www.hipgeo.com.

About HipGeo

Launched in January of 2012, the HipGeo app and community lets people share their memorable experiences by automatically creating location-based stories from photos, videos and text captured from iOS and Android devices. These virtual journals can then be automatically shared via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, within the HipGeo community and via email or blogs. Whether capturing local experiences or travels around the world, HipGeo’s mapmation and time and location-stamped virtual journals, inspire and enrich discovery and social communication. And only HipGeo’s crowd-sourcing and broadcast platform allows for people to share photos and videos based on an event or location they share. HipGeo was founded by Scott Daniel, Jeff Kunzleman and Richard Rygg and is funded by Morada Ventures. HipGeo users have created posts from over 140 countries and 7,500 cities and logged over 10 million location data points. The company has a white label partnership agreement with Rough Guides, a division of Penguin Books. HipGeo is also integrated into the Sabre reservation travel system which consists of approximately 200,000 agencies. The HipGeo app is a finalist for the Sabre Red Appy awards for best app compatible with the Sabre platform, and has been named the most promising Travel Tech for 2012 by Conde Nast. The HipGeo community can be found at www.hipgeo.com and the free app can be downloaded at the Apple App store.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50360736&lang=en

Contacts

K/F Communications for HipGeo
Jordan Sturm, 415-255-6509
Jordan@kfcomm.com
or
K/F Communications
Julie Karbo, 415-255-6505
Julie@kfcomm.com

Contacts

K/F Communications for HipGeo
Jordan Sturm, 415-255-6509
Jordan@kfcomm.com
or
K/F Communications
Julie Karbo, 415-255-6505
Julie@kfcomm.com