SxSW: Social Media Start-ups for Good

It's mostly all about location this weekend at the South by Southwest [SxSW] Interactive Festival in Austin. Dozens of new social media start-ups launching there offer new ways to help people connect geographically in real-time, on the fly, using their mobile phones and devices. But just some of these new start-ups use social media for social good.

Here are some of the new hybrid for-profit/nonprofit enterprises which have been triggering some buzz at the festival (many conference-goers want to "discover" the next Twitter or Foursquare):

* CauseWorld, a free iPhone and Android app that enables users to check in at places -- and when they do, participating brands (including Kraft Foods and Citi) will give money to a charity of their choice. The concept is to turn the current craze for location-based check-in games into money for those in need. This week at SxSW, CauseWorld and TechCrunch, the tech news blog, are partnering to offer double "karma" points to people who check in to one of over 50 participating venues in Austin. There are no purchases required. "Players" just need to check in to the right venues to earn the points.

* Vicarious.ly is a real-time, location-based information stream that aggregates the movements of people in Austin attending SxSW -- and will soon be able to do the same for people who aggregate in different cities around the United States and the world. [Go ahead, try it. It's like a visual Twitter on steroids.] SimpleGeo, the start-up that owns Vicarious.ly, partnered with eight different location companies -- including Gowalla, Foursquare, Brightkite and Twitter -- and the result is a fast-moving "location stream" of data. So far, much of the activity represents check-ins from either foursquare or Gowalla. Down the road, founders hope to help nonprofits and NGOs build new ways to map crowd movements in environmental or political crises, so as to boost the delivery efficiency of basic goods and services.

* SparkHelp, a project that Mashable is supporting for the Pepsi Refresh SxSW Challenge, a competition for $50,000 in start-up funding. Founders describe SparkHelp as "a foursquare meets Craigslist" application. "The idea is simple," says Brian Milner, co-founder. "Anyone can place a call for help and anyone can answer that call. Help can be sought for anything: fence repair, car repair, computer work, volunteer work for a person or group in need, dog-walking, etc." SparkHelp is seeking funding to build its Website and the apps for all of the major mobile platforms needed to match a user's time or skills with people who need them -- and all in real-time, based on where they are now.

* Giiv bills itself as a start-up that's all about "texting with benefits." It's a mobile "micro-gifting" platform that enables people instantly to send gifts to friends and those in need. How does it work? Find a gift you want to give from among those listed on Giiv's site and then enter the intended'd mobile number with a note. Giiv then texts that person a giiv code, which he or she can then redeem for real merchandise or services. The online micro-giving site, Globalgiving, and Tom's Shoes are among the first companies to list "gift" items on Giiv's beta site. (There is a 99-cent processing fee added on to the amount of the gift.)

* Glass is another real-time Web company, but this one lets users place notes on top of any Website, so that contacts "can see your thought together with the moment that inspired it, in context, allowing you to share the experience of being there." Think of it as a clear, digital Post-it note. "It's a virtual sheet of glass that lies over the entire Internet that's yours to affect," founders say. "You can share your thoughts about anything on the Web, right in the moment, by literally placing notes, highlighting text and even placing pictures and videos on top of any Website and share those thoughts with only those you choose." Think of it as a personalized form of "augmented reality" that lets people share a moment and a thought together as an experience. Founders say the application promotes information-exchange and promotes transparency, with the potential for social advocacy organizations looking to quickly share information about specific locations or get up to speed faster in crises locations from those on the ground.

Other unique location-aware ware at SxSW this year? Check out the "Twitter mandala."

Ironically, perhaps, these and other location-tracking platforms come amid some first-day conference sessions devoted to spirited discussions of online privacy, which conference kick-off keynoter danah boyd defined as "being not about hiding your information but about being able to control it in different situations."

Watch this space for updates.