Influx Insights: Social Listing is an NYC based start-up that could take some business away from E-Bay and Craigslist.

Taap.it is an application that’s designed for Android and iPhone who’s purpose is to create a geo-social market for things. It’s all based on finding these things around where you happen to be located and one would assume to allow buyers to meet sellers to pick up items..etc.

By focusing on the phone and linking it to social networks- Social Listing has found a way to be much more dynamic than any of its competitors- be they- newspapers, Craigslist or E-Bay.

Success is clearly dependent on buyers being interested enough to change their shopping behavior and SL to be able to build strong local markets of sellers.

Socially Selling [Influx Insights]

TrendBlog: Pharmaceutical manufacturer Lion has produced a free iPhone app for school students preparing to take the annual gauntlet of university entrance exams.

Every year high school students travel around the country to new places to sit a series of tough tests at different colleges, hoping to pass at least one at a prestigious university. The stress can lead to health implications, though diarrhea is not one that many people would initially consider.

However, such problems, exasperated by nerves, eating junk food while rushing to exam halls, and feeling unsettled in a strange location, are very real to the sufferers. Being in a unfamiliar setting also makes it harder to deal with the problems, so Lion’s Toilet College app provides the bearings of nearby public conveniences after you enter the name of the institution you are currently at.

The GPS app, which provides information on the areas around major universities in the Tokyo and Kansai regions (Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe), sounds a little tongue-in-cheek. Its attitude towards the subject matter is certainly frank and casual; the locations of the lavatories are marked by large red toilet symbols. However, Lion is in fact using the app to promote its diarrhea medicine Stoppa, and ads on trains suggest the app as, like the product, just another way to combat bowel conditions.

Public Lavatory App For Toilet Trouble Students [TrendBlog]

Appolicious: Say you’re collaborating with a colleague or client on a special project. You’re having difficulty explaining a detail in words, and you’re hundreds of miles away from your nearest contact. This is the perfect opportunity to try join.me Viewer for Android.

The app not only works like a private chat room, but it also shares your in-action computer screen with a select number of people. It’s a great business tool that allows you to start meetings, web conferences or ad-hoc collaborations from anywhere you can get a Wi-Fi signal.

What’s especially great about it is how easy it is to use. Just have everyone who would like to be part of the conference download the join.me app. In the meantime, you (or whoever is facilitating the discussion) heads over to https://join.me and hits the big “Share” button (This is what starts the broadcast). Next, you’ll be given a nine-digit code. This is the number your team will enter into the app to gain access to the meeting.

Android app join.me Viewer makes collaboration easy [Appolicious]

PicturePhoning.com: Turn your phone into an interactive name badge. Instead of giving your new friend your printed business card, text them your virtual one. This action automatically places them in your online contact list and if they have a profile on contxts.com you both are connected.

The mobile badge displays a user’s name alongside a QR code that when scanned will pass along contact details. The badge also cycles through a user’s latest tweets and checkins, highlights fun facts and puts other social data on dynamic display using information from a user’s profile.

Turn Your Phone Into an Interactive “Hello My Name Is” Badge [PicturePhoning.com]

Springwise.com: Created by Chicago-based Sandbox Industries, Bluelight users begin by telling the app how much time they need to get to their destination on a particular occasion, such as a late-night trip home. They also designate a friend or family member for the application to contact if it’s necessary. Then, assuming they arrive at their destination as planned, they simply check in with Bluelight and their contact won’t be bothered. If they don’t check in, however, Bluelight will send a text message or email to the contact with the user’s most recent location in the form of GPS coordinates plotted on a map. That person can then reach out to make sure everything is OK. Bluelight also offers a “Send Alert Now” button as an alternative to waiting for the application’s timer.

iPhone app sends safety alert if you don’t arrive on time [Springwise.com]

I4U: If you are the sort that has to send Valentines gifts to every woman, you ever knew we have a new app just for you. The app is called Kiss My Valentine and has a countdown clock so you remember the day is coming and you can get gifts ready. The app can store different contacts and lets you keep track with the real world items you need to buy and sent to your Valentines.

The app will reset after V-Day 2011 and will work next year too. You can send hugs and kisses as well as greetings to other users form the app. The well wishes are delivered to addresses in your contacts menu.

Kiss My Valentine App Keeps all Your Dates Straight [I4U]

TrendCentral: The Shopkick check-in app identifies consumers via their iPhones the moment they enter a retail environment, upon which it automatically unlocks rewards. (Special technology verifies that a user has actually entered a store – merely walking by doesn’t count.) Frequent shoppers are rewarded for their loyalty with real world incentives like gift cards, downloads and gadgets. They can also earn exclusive virtual currency called “kickbucks,” which can be cashed in for things like Facebook credits and gift cards.

New automatic check-in apps seek to eliminate “check-in fatigue” [TrendCentral]

New York Times: Sun Alert Lite has three dials with icons on them, one dial for skin type, one for the S.P.F. of your sunscreen, and one for weather conditions. The skin type dial provides adequate explanation of pigmentation, such as “Light brown skin, no freckles, good tanning ability,” to accurately pick your type. S.P.F. is self-explanatory, but the environment dial may require some thought.

For instance, at my downtown pool, where the chairs are on a grass lawn, do I choose “sunny urban” or “park open field?” When the dials are set, the app tells you how much time you can stay outside. Start the timer and it will count down to a warning beep with the message “time over!”

Apps That Save You From Sunburn [New York Times]

In response to the environmental challenges facing the design and construction industries, Fresh Design Base Ltd. has created and launched an iPhone application which greatly reduces the amount of visits to building sites, as well as printing costs, for professionals. SiteP.A.D. allows the user to draw in CAD format, in the palm of their hands. The user can upload and download drawings, to and from their iPhone, whilst out of the office – thus making the whole process much more efficient.

NPR: As the computing power of cell phones increases, more and more sophisticated mobile apps are being developed for the mental health field. They’re seen as a way to bridge periodic therapy sessions — a sort of 24-7 mobile therapist that can help with everything from quitting smoking to treating anxiety to detecting relapses in psychotic disorders.

These mobile technologies let users track their moods and experiences, providing a supplemental tool for psychiatrists and psychologists.

Mental Health Apps: Like A ‘Therapist In Your Pocket’ [NPR]

TrendCentral: Available for just 99 cents from iTunes, Laan Labs’ Sonar Ruler may be the answer to our laser measuring dreams. The app emits sound waves, from the iPhone’s speaker, which then bounce off wherever you point it back to the phone, finally offering a measurement which can be set in feet, inches, or meters.

Should you download it, you may find yourself buying new furniture every time you hit a flea market after discovering that, yes, that chair is small enough to fit in your guest bathroom.

There’ an App for That [TrendCentral]