• Check-In For Charity During SXSW With CauseWorld And TechCrunch

    Thursday, March 11th, 2010

    MG Siegler is a general partner at CrunchFund and a columnist for TechCrunch, where he has been writing since 2009. His focus is on Apple. Prior to TechCrunch, MG covered various technology beats for VentureBeat. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He’s previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in... → Learn More

    There are no shortage of location-based services launching this week at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Many of them allow you to “check-in” places to let others know you are there. So how do you differentiate between then and decide which to use? Well, here’s one good way.

    CauseWorld, is a free iPhone and Android app that lets you check-in places, but it has an added real-world bonus: big brands give money to charity when you do so. And this week at SXSW, CauseWorld is teaming up with TechCrunch to offer double point (which they aptly call “karma”) when you check in to one of over 50 venues around Austin (I’ll paste the full list at the bottom of the post), including the Austin Convention Center (where SXSW is held).

    We’ve covered CauseWorld, which is the first offering from the soon-to-launch ShopKick, a few times now. It’s a great product because it takes an area that is red hot right now, location-based check-ins, and converts it into good deeds in the real world. For example, if you check-in at a store, you may earn 20 karma points. As you continue to accumulate these, you can turn them into real dollar donations for causes such as water in Sudan or trees in the Amazon. Brands such as Kraft Foods and Citi are currently giving the donations based on what users choose to trade their karma points for. The best part is, you don’t even have to buy anything — you simply check-in at various venues and earn the points. And again, this week at SXSW, checking-in with the app at a bunch of venues will earn you double karma points.

    And like any good service with a gaming element, there’s a leaderboard to show who has donated the most karma points. And yes, checking-in can earn you badges, such as the TechCrunch one show in this post.

    So if you’re going to be in Austin for SXSW this week. Or really, if you just want to do some good with your mobile device, check out CauseWorld. Find it in the App Store here, or in the Android Market (on your Android device).

    Below find the 54 participating double karma Austin check-in spots:

    1. Aces Lounge
    2. Alamo Drafthouse
    3. Amsterdam Café
    4. Austin Convention Center
    5. Austin Music Hall
    6. B D Riley’s Irish Pub
    7. Barbarella
    8. Beso Cantina
    9. Bob Bullock Theater
    10. Buffalo Billiard
    11. Café Mozart
    12. Carver Museum and Cultural Center
    13. Cedar Door
    14. Chupacabra Cantina
    15. Chuy’s
    16. Clay Pit
    17. Club Deville
    18. Cuba Libre
    19. Dirty Dog Bar
    20. Elysium
    21. Emo’s
    22. Emo’s Annex
    23. Flamingo Cantina
    24. Hyde Park Bar & Grill
    25. Iron Cactus
    26. Karma Lounge
    27. Kenichi
    28. Kerbey Lane
    29. La Zona Rosa
    30. Lambert’s Downtown
    31. Lustre Pearl, Lustre Pearl Bar
    32. Malaga, Malaga Tapas & Bar
    33. Malverde
    34. Mellow Johnny’s
    35. Molotov Lounge
    36. Moonshine Bar and Grill
    37. Opal Divines
    38. Palm Door
    39. Red 7
    40. Red Eye Fly
    41. Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ
    42. Rusty Spurs
    43. Salt Lick BBQ
    44. Spider House Café
    45. Stubb’s BBQ
    46. Stubbs
    47. The Belmont
    48. The Best Wurst I
    49. The Highball
    50. The Scoot Inn
    51. Uncorked Tasting Room
    52. Velveeta Room
    53. Victory Grill
    54. Vortex Repertory

    Sponsored Ads

    blog comments powered by Disqus

    Sponsored Ads

    Sponsored Ads

    Upcoming Events

    Disrupt SF 2012

    San Francisco, CA