User:Devarshimehta7/sandbox

Geme.io is free, geolocation app aimed at transforming the way people, organizations, municipalities, and businesses interact with their respective communities.

The app is founded on the belief that substantial social and economic gains can be made by opening and free data to the public. Information is power, and via the creation of a transparent, open platform, shared data will improve services, spur economic growth, and make cities more enjoyable spaces for everyone. Open data brings the power back to the individual allowing them to play a more active role in their own community.

It is a pioneering, app-activist in this area with a strategic focus on information sharing, community mapping, and crowdsourcing. Via the creation of Gemies (markers on the app’s virtual map), users can follow and receive proximity-alerts surrounding relevant information (info and social Gemies) and advertisement Gemies. The value-added, and what makes this app unique as compared to current social-sharing platforms, is the geolocation component. Real-time is the best possible moment for enacting change. If folks are dependent on posts that they can casually review, days or weeks tend to pass and capitalizing on the here and now is lost. Geo-mapping brings action to the here and now, communicating what’s happening/offering/needed thus empowering citizens with the ability to act in the present.

On this application, information is shared through the app which features a strong, social component (via APIs) – best new ice-cream spot, recyclable trash bins, restaurants with wheelchair access, organic café, the list is endless. Municipalities especially can capture and process timely information from their citizen base surrounding potholes that need repairing to police or fire alerts in extreme cases. At its core, Geme is crowdsourcing - gathering inputs and then applying them to a shared goal. Residents by nature want to feel connected, and tourists want to have options when visiting a city. Municipalities want to provide this to both while maintaining an orderly structure where their tax base can enjoy themselves.

The application uses Google for its map services and is complemented with an added, social component. Geofencing is used to determine how close users are to a given point, and to provide a more personalized user experience. One can SMS, email or call a person/company/brand that they choose to follow on the app. It has been developed for IOS and Android coupled with a browser version as well.

Example of real-life cases:

-     A voluntary organization publicizing an event via geo-location to raise money and attract new members.

-     A group of friends seeking to get a soccer game together on the local field and they need more players.

-     Weekend entrepreneurs selling second-hand items to those living nearby.

-     A local shop teasing its users with offers about their fresh, organically produced beans.

-     The municipality communicating in winter months snow and ice conditions in real-time to community residents.

We use technology to bring us closer. That is what communities have always been about, and Geme is returning us to our core. Category:Mobile app Category:Locaiton sharing Category:Community mapping Category:Crowdfunding Category:Information sharing