KanGuo – which means ‘seen before’ in Chinese – is one of the most delightfully aimless location-based service (LBS) apps that we’ve seen or tested. There are no badges or pre-ordained check-ins – it’s just an app for geotagging nice places you’ve been, with a note for others to find. It goes beyond the nerdy image of geocaching, to make it a creative and social activity for anyone with a smartphone.
In contrast to services like Jiepang or Foursquare, KanGuo is pretty free-form, and more like a toy than a tool. You can use it with your Sina Weibo account, and then it’s just a case of dropping your little geonotes – preferably with pictures – anywhere you feel like it. These will also be sent out to Weibo, for your followers there to see as well.
Here’s a pin I dropped earlier this evening with a note, and then I used the built-in Google Maps to refine the location (what with civilian GPS being so deliberately inaccurate in China):
The Beijing-based start-up behind this is placing the emphasis on fun, and even chatting with the geo-taggers around you. The apps – for iPhone and Android – are only in Chinese, but the service theoretically works globally.
As with a lot of mini-communities like this, it’s nice it allows third-party login, but that’s still not a silver bullet for gaining traction, and if a user sees no other users in their area, it’ll be a huge turn-off. Another challenge is how on earth to monetize an LBS service that doesn’t tie-in with brands or stores.
Head on over to the KanGuo site for a tour and app download links.
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