"LOCAII" - Via, SXSW

Locaii

Another highlight from SXSW? Meeting Aaron Bannister, CIO and founder of the fabulous new social networking tool, LOCAII. We’re always looking for fun ways to facilitate and encourage the “local” travel experience, so imagine my excitement upon discovering LOCAII, an iPhone app dedicated to exactly that. 

Here’s the basic idea: you arrive at a location, let’s say…a bar. You open the app and “check in.” You’re then deposited into a chatroom of sorts, where you can converse with everyone else currently at the bar, including friends, connections and strangers. You can ask for drink recommendations, other tips, or invite each other over to chat face to face. It's not limited to bars of course. Say you're at the Lakers game and want to vent over a bad call with other like minded spectators, you can check in at the Staples Center and go crazy. They've essentially taken the online chatroom experience and made it not only more immediate, but also more interactive. You can even create your own poll, and invite people to vote! And most importantly, as far as we're concerned, Locaii is a great tool to discover local tips in an unfamiliar place. 

Aaron was nice enough to answer a few questions about LOCAII and what they're up to: 

Q: How did you get the idea to start LOCAII?

A: We have always been social people and big travelers (except recently while working to get locaii out) and we continued to see people with their phones out during experiences. We also strongly believe in the mobile computing revolution that is going on now. We put those two thoughts together and realized we could make something for people's phones that kept them in the experience.  

Q: How do you think LOCAII enhances the local travel experience?

A: Probably the best use for travelers - especially if they are solo - is bringing their locaii friends with them. When they find a new spot or an amazing experience they can post it and their friends can reply. This is even cooler when they are traveling and they don't know what to do next. They can post a poll and their friends can vote to help them decide.  

Q: What’s next for you guys post SXSW?

A: First thing is sleep. Then we need to decompress everything from sxsw and evaluate our next step. We will be rolling the user feedback into our next update, taking a closer look at the sports watching use case, and pursuing the investor connections we made to get our next round of funding. 

Thanks, Aaron! Locaii is available in the iTunes App Store. FOR FREE.

-L. 

Austin, TX via SXSW

Another Monday, another case of the post-travel blues.6th Street, Downtown Austin

I spent the past several days in Austin, TX for the South by Southwest Film/Interactive/Music Festival, where I explored a few local tips from this post, as well as a few new ones! Maybe I'm biased (as a native Texan), but I find the people of Austin to be incredibly welcoming and friendly. And the city is SO CHEAP--especially compared to my last few weekend getaways (Mammoth, Vegas, Denver...). Cheap, friendly and fiercely local--what more could you want!?

I didn't have a lot of free time to peruse the festival's offerings, but I did come across a trailer for an accepted short film called SKATEISTAN. In the words of the filmmakers:

To Live And Skate Kabul is a beautiful and moving short film that follows the lives of two young skateboarders from Afghanistan who attend the Skateistan charity project. Juxtaposing the harsh reality of life in Kabul with the hopes and ambitions of the country's children, the film is a touching ray oflight from a country only ever in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Looks to me like an incredibly raw and intriguing glance into local Kabul, so naturally, I felt inclined to share it here:

On a lighter note, here are a few local suggestions for your next trip to Austin:

EAT  |  ABEL'S ON THE LAKE

Gorgeous spot right on Lake Austin. Festive
yet casual atmosphere with good food
and fantastic service. 

3825 Lake Austin Blvd; Austin, TX 78703

DRINK  |  THE DRISKILL BAR

Old fashioned, stately bar right in downtown.
Great spot to experience the old-school 
"Texas charm," without hoards of tourists. 

604 Brazos St.; Austin, TX 78701

PLAY  |  BARTON SPRINGS POOL

Amy mentioned this in her Local of the Week
post, but it's worth repeating. Memorable
back-to-nature experience within city limits.

2201 Barton Springs Road; Austin, TX 78746

-L.