location based services ShoZu Adds Geotagging for Flickr, YouTube & 5 Other Sites

Written by ShoZu
Thursday, 15 February 2007 The new location tag capability applies to all ShoZu web destinations that support tagging. ShoZu also enables users to upload images to sites without tagging including photo sharing communities; personal blogging sites; and any FTP or email address. Geotagging is currently available for several new GPS-enabled Symbian S60v3 and Windows Mobile phones Supports More Sites & Phones Than Any Other Mobile Image Uploading Service -- BARCELONA, Spain-- -ShoZu Inc. today announced that its Share-It one-click image uploading service now offers location tagging for photos and video clips sent from GPS-enabled phones to Flickr and YouTube as well as Buzznet, Dada.net, moblogUK, Pikeo and Textamerica. ShoZu is the only upload service that provides automatic geotagging for cameraphone uploads to more than one Internet destination. It also supports more GPS handsets than any other provider. With the new geotagging feature, GPS-enabled handsets equipped with the ShoZu application can attach latitude and longitude information to images automatically upon capture. ShoZu will then send this information to any Share-It destination that supports tagging, along with all other tags the user has created manually. In the case of Flickr, uploaded images will also be displayed automatically in their precise location on the user’s Flickr map. For users, geotags make it possible to search community photo repositories by geographical location just as they would search by any other tag, whether to explore a vacation destination, find photos of a certain city or area that contributors have failed to tag with location information, or simply hunt for users with common interests. Non-Flickr users who want mapping capabilities can pinpoint the exact location of geotagged photos of interest by pasting the geotags into an application like Google Earth. For web communities, ShoZu’s geotagging capability offers a site enhancement that can draw new users as well as opening the door to new services. A photo sharing site, for example, could load all images submitted from a concert tour on a map so that users can follow the band from city to city. A citizen journalism site could use the feature to instantly identify the location of a photo of a breaking news event in order to quickly dispatch a reporter to the scene. And so on. In addition, handset manufacturers can benefit from ShoZu’s new location tagging by providing a location-based service that leverages their investment in GPS technology, and advertisers using ShoZu’s mobile advertising platform will be able to use the function to target messages by user location once ShoZu has implemented necessary privacy protections. “GPS is becoming a standard feature on handsets, primarily because of mobile subscribers who want navigation systems built into their phones. That is paving the way for new location-based services like geotagging,” said ShoZu CEO Mark Bole. “Our broad web community and handset support will lead the way in this area, equip our partners with a strong LBS application, and add rich new value to user-generated content for the massive number of consumers who have turned social networking into the hottest technology trend today.” ShoZu’s Share-It service enables users to upload photos and video clips captured on their camera phones with fewer clicks, at higher resolution and to more web destinations than any other method. Users also have the unique ability to add titles or tags after uploading, exchange comments between web and phone, and upload any image to multiple destinations for a single data fee in cases where carrier charges apply. Uploads automatically resume from the point of failure in the event a dropped connection, eliminating user frustration. The new location tag capability applies to all ShoZu web destinations that support tagging. ShoZu also enables users to upload images to sites without tagging including photo sharing communities Kodak EasyShare Gallery, MSN’s Windows Live Spaces and Webshots; personal blogging sites Blogger, TypePad and WordPress; citizen-contributed photojournalism sites CNN, the BBC and Scoopt; and any FTP or email address. ShoZu continues to add new sites on a regular basis. Geotagging is currently available for several new GPS-enabled Symbian S60v3 and Windows Mobile phones. ShoZu currently supports a total of 136 handsets, including Symbian, Java, Microsoft Windows Mobile and BREW devices. The list includes select WiFi-enabled mobile phones such as the Nokia N80 in Europe and the Dash in the U.S.,enabling multimedia files to be routed over users’ home, office or WiFi connection (or AirPort connection for Mac users) rather than the cellular network to reduce data transport costs. About ShoZu ShoZu is a mobile media service that enables consumer and media companies to interact with customers on their mobile phones through fast, easy exchange of multimedia content and web-based services. The company’s patented technology allows consumers to download and upload photos, videos, music, text and other digital content to and from the handset without the need to open a mobile browser, wait for pages to load, interrupt phone calls, start over in the event of a dropped connection, or sync to a PC. Services include innovative ZuCasts that deliver content to the handset automatically, one-click uploading of camera phone images and video clips to community websites and other destinations, and two-way mobile-to-web messaging and interactivity. For more information, visit www.shozu.com/aboutus.