The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Each weekend, Mashable handpicks a few startups that we think are building interesting, unique or niche products. This time we’ve chosen applications and services specifically for the foodies, travelers, deal-lovers and nightlife-goers among us.If you’re traveling this summer, why not take a trip to Fortnighter’s website first for a custom travel itinerary written just for you by one of the site’s contributing travel writers? Those staycationing instead might appreciate the deals and food information on venues just down the street as provided by Poggled or Foodstream.
And whatever your wants and desires may be, you can use Want! for iPhone to share them with friends and followers as photographs.
Fortnighter: Made-To-Order Travel Guides From Experts
Quick Pitch: Fortnighter provides users with customized travel itineraries written by professional travel writers.
Genius Idea: Bucking algorithms, user reviews and social recommendations in favor of expert travel suggestions.
Mashable’s Take: There are plenty of sites for getting travel recommendations and itinerary suggestions from your social network friends. While these contacts may have a few solid tips, chances are they’re not as familiar as seasoned travel writers with the local culture, the best hotel deals in town or the absolute-must-see attractions.
For the latter, sign up with Fortnighter, specify where you’re headed, who you’re going with and how long you’re staying. Then, complete the questionnaire so Fortnighter can get a reading on your tastes and interests. The site will return your itinerary, for a fee, in about a week.
“At Fortnighter, our motivation is helping you find your ideal hotel, giving you directions to a locals-only beach or telling you about that store where you want to buy one of everything,” the startup explains.
Fornighter’s founders are former food and travel writers with years of experience contributing to top publications. “The contributor team at Fortnighter consists of nearly a hundred experts who have written for almost every major travel outlet,” co-founder Colin Nagy tells Mashable.
Fornighter’s itinerary service isn’t cheap — we were quoted $150 fee for planning a five-night trip to Sonoma — but the level of detail the service provides could ensure that your next vacation is one full of rich and localized experiences.
Foodstream: Food Data & Deals on Your iPhone
Genius Idea: Time-sensitive dining information mixed with nearby food and beverage deals.
Mashable’s Take: Think of Foodstream as a souped-up, deal-packed version of Urbanspoon.
The iOS application aggregates data from Allmenus and OpenTable, along with deals from a number of providers including Groupon and gives you a simple way to explore options at nearby restaurants and food joints via a list or map view. It includes photos, reviews, dining guides, information on take-out options and happy hour specials.
You can dive into individual categories via the app’s main menu or scroll through the entire Foodstream to view a timeline of food-related updates. You can also optionally create an account to save places as favorites, post photos and share reviews of the establishments you visit.
Foodstream is built by San Jose-based startup Chevia.
Poggled: Club, Drinks & Dinner Deals
Quick Pitch: Poggled is an anytime, anywhere nightlife deals service with apps for Android and iPhone.
Genius Idea: Bottle service for the rest of us.
Mashable’s Take: A night out on the town is a pricey affair. A select few of us can afford to buy bottle service at the club, but the rest of us wait in long lines and fight our way through packed crowds just to wait to pay primo prices at the bar.
Poggled, a venture-backed Chicago-based startup offering daily deals service for nightlife, could make the VIP lifestyle accessible to the rest of us. Deals included discounted bottle service, club packages, premium cocktails at well prices and even the occasional all-you-can drink wristband.
Right now, Poggled’s nightlife deals are limited to the Chicago area, but the startup plans to expand to additional markets in the near feature.
We’re a little iffy on whether the nightlife crowd is the right audience to target with deals. Deeply discounted coupons certainly work for spa treatments and daytime activities, but the nightlife scene is all about appearances and keeping up with the Joneses. Bar and club-hopping types may be more interested in appearing trendy than looking cheap.
Want!: Express Your Wants Through Photos
Quick Pitch: Want! is an iPhone application for sharing your desires through photographs.
Genius Idea: A social network for those who like to tell the world what they want.
Mashable’s Take: Want! is a photo sharing iPhone application structured around your wants and desires and those of the people you follow.
If you see something you want, snap a photo of it, say why you want it and where you saw it. Your photo is posted as a want and you can share it out to Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and Tumblr. You can also follow the wants of other app users and click to indicate that you want their wants, too.
Want!’s purpose may be a bit simplistic, but we love the look of the application, the social integrations, the ease of uploading and sharing, and the ability to follow the wants of our social connections. Want! even tracks the most-wanted goods by category, location and venue.
Now, we just want more of our friends to use it.
Posting Source: http://mashable.com/2011/06/11/weekend-roundup/
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