got geoint?

Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from the one-and-only got geoint? Alright, let’s face it. We have a long weekend on the horizon and you don’t feel like working today, right? It’s perfectly normal to feel this way (don’t worry, we won’t tell your bosses). Though, we expect that many of you were so productive this week that you actually earned a little Friday “down time.” And, what better way to end the week than with a FFT post all about apps. That’s is right. Apps are the new black and unlike whimsical fashion trends, it seems they are here to stay (and this is a good thing). So, here we go…we are diving into the world of apps. Hope you all have a relaxing long weekend!

“What is an App?” USGIF Young Professionals Group — First Event of 2011
The USGIF Young Professional Group is holding an open forum on the current app craze within the GEOINT community. This event will include a panel discussion and ample networking opportunities amongst your peers. The panel will be moderated by current USGIF YPG Board Member, Alex Martinez. Panelists with a range of government and industry experience will share their perspectives on working with apps and delivering end-user content. Pretty cool, right? Learn more here.

10 Best iPhone Apps on a Night Out
On a night out a lot of people don’t like their friends whipping out their iPhone and showing off their shiny new apps to all who will listen. These people tend to not own an iPhone. Now for all those who are not living in the past, this article will show you the future of social togetherness, conversation starters and well-being on nights out on the town! Check out the full iPhoneAppCafe post here. Our personal favorite is the iKebab app, which allows you to find the closest kebab joint after a long evening of enjoying libations. What will they think of next?

DrunkDialer iPhone App Saves The Day — Or At Least Some Next-Day Humiliation
Before you hit up the kebab joint after leaving the club, you may be tempted to drunk dial that ex. While this may seem like a good idea at the time, we all know it’s a big no-no. Well, fortunately there is an iPhone app called DrunkDialer that makes the numbers on your phone keep moving, making it nearly impossible to dial that special person. Though, we have to wonder what if you have your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend’s number already programmed into your iPhone? Would be pretty difficult to block that call — it just takes the pressing of one button. Check out more here.

The Best iPhone Apps
Alright. Enough of these silly apps. Now it’s time to cut through the clutter and check out some apps that actually have some real value. It’s now been over two years since we first gazed upon the well-stocked shelves of the iTunes App Store. While our Top iPhone Apps were tough to choose the first time around, the task has become even tougher as developers have flooded the market with apps, now to the tune of over 300,000 (that’s a separate app for every person in the city of Pittsburgh). Even for a niche tasks like calculating your blood alcohol content after a night of drinking, you can find over a dozen apps that fit the bill. And that’s not even beginning to account for the scores of oddball games out there. Which ones belong on your phone? We’ve been scouring the App Store nonstop, soliciting the advice of friends and coworkers, and putting our own phones to work as test machines to maintain a continually updated list of our favorite apps in five different categories. Check out more from Digital Trends here.

MapQuest Takes on Google Maps with Android Navigation App
AOL-owned navigation solutions provider MapQuest is squaring off against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) on the digital services giant’s own turf, introducing a free turn-by-turn directions application optimized for Android devices. MapQuest for Android boasts features including voice-guided navigation, voice search, a map toolbar promising one-click access to restaurants, coffee shops, gas stations and parking, walking and driving directions, and a live traffic flow/incidents feed updated every five minutes. The app also introduces OpenStreetMap data, enabling international usage as well as directly report errors onto the map. MapQuest notes that roughly 8.6 million people access its mobile website each month, with 1.4 million of them on Android devices. Even so, MapQuest for Android faces a formidable challenge: Google’s own Google Maps solution ranks alongside Facebook and the Weather Channel as the most popular applications across rival smartphone platforms according to data published in mid-2010 by The Nielsen Company. Read more from FierceMobileContent here.

Song Made with iPhone Music Apps
The beauty of all these apps is that they allow us to unleash a world of creativity. It is truly quite amazing. And, check out this original song composed with nothing but iPhone apps. By simply using ThumbJam, BeatMaker and iShred, this one innovative individual created a very nice little song. Check it out here. And perhaps, we should consider creating a “got geoint?” song using these same apps! In due time, as they say.

Tags: Best iPhone Apps, DrunkDailer app, GEOINT apps, Google Maps, google Maps and MapQuest, iPhone Apps, MapQuest, Song Made with iPhone App, USGIF Young Professionals Group