As the electronic age puts physical bookstores and libraries under increasing threat, Local Books is a great example of how, by encouraging a resurgence of consumer interest at a local level, new technologies can be used to provide a shot in the arm for traditional outlets. Launched in January, it's a free iPhone app that allows users to search an area for bookstores, libraries and literary events such as readings, book discussions and signings.

Local Books is powered by LibraryThing Local—a crowdsourced database of 51,000 bookstores and libraries around the world. Users can search for these "venues" by name or by location. The details provided for venues include maps plus (when available) descriptions, photographs, links, and information about upcoming events at those establishments. Venues and events can be sorted by distance, name, type and date.

At present Local Books does not show inventories from bookstores and libraries. We wouldn't be surprised to see this feature available from them or from someone else in the near future. Could that be you? (Related: Online platform connecting booklovers.)

Website: www.librarything.com/blog/2010/01/local-books-iphone-application.php
Contact: tim@librarything.com

Spotted by: Los Angeles Times via Jim Stewart

We've seen several efforts recently to bring Facebook photos into the offline world, such as HotPrints' free, advert-supported albums. Now bringing such capabilities to brick-and-mortar stores comes a new initiative from Kodak that lets consumers print online photos from Facebook and Picasa using its in-store kiosks.

Starting this summer, users of Kodak Picture Kiosks will be able to access their web albums on Facebook and Picasa as well as Kodak's own Kodak Gallery service. The kiosks will make 4x6in (102x152mm) prints of the photos, provided the resolution is high enough to make a quality print. Kodak says it also intends to connect with other social networking sites around the globe.

Given that more than 3 billion photos are uploaded to Facebook alone each month, there are plenty of opportunities for forging OFF=ON connections for consumers whose memories increasingly reside in the virtual world. How can your brand help make those memories more tangible? (Related: Mini web-to-print photo albums.)

Website: www.kodak.com
Contact: tinyurl.com/emailkodak

Spotted by: Judy McRae

The subscription services are coming thick and fast lately, automating for shopping-weary consumers the routine purchase of life's little necessities. Most recently it was men's skincare products; before that it was razor blades, greeting cards and more. The latest spotting? Men's undergarments—including socks, T-shirts and underwear.

'Sockscriptions', of course, are no longer new, dating back as they do at least 10 years. Florida-based Manpacks, however, expands the concept into an entire undergarment package, available for delivery every three months. Consumers begin by choosing one of four subscription packages, all of which use exclusively Hanes clothing. The JustSocks package, for instance, provides three pairs of socks every three months for USD 7 per shipment. At the opposite end of the scale is the MachoPack, which includes three shirts, three pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks every three months for USD 33 per shipment. Consumers can specify the colours and the styles they prefer—boxers versus briefs, for example.

Currently Manpacks ships only within the United States and Canada, but it aims to expand internationally soon. Time to help make that happen...? (Related: Household goods, straight from manufacturers.)

Website: www.manpacks.com
Contact: info@manpacks.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Giving softly-spoken consumers everywhere a better chance of getting themselves heard, the Talk-o-Meter is a chat-monitoring iPhone app designed to show conversation dominators the error of their overbearing ways.

After a brief calibration period to identify the voices in a dialogue, the app recognises who is speaking and keeps track of each person's talk time. The results are displayed as red and blue bars indicating the balance. Speakers can then glance at the Talk-o-Meter as they converse, and—the designer hopes—make adjustments if they are monopolising the discussion.

Talk-o-Meter is priced at EUR 3.99 on the Apple iTunes Store. Its creator, Unperfekthaus, is working on a new version of the app that can be used by more than two people, to identify those who dominate group discussions. One to try out or get involved in?

Website: www.talk-o-meter.de/e
Contact: info@unperfekthaus.de

Spotted by: Reinhard Wiesemann

We've seen a few different efforts to help travellers share rides to and from airports, most recently Virgin Atlantic's Taxi2. Now one of our spotters has alerted us to another, Ridepenguin, which is currently in beta at Seattle's Sea-Tac and Las Vegas's McCarran airports.

Ridepenguin helps travellers reduce costs and emissions by sharing taxi rides to or from the airport. Users start off on the free service by indicating which airport they're going to, when, and from what part of town. Ridepenguin then estimates how much money and emissions would be saved if the traveller shared a ride, and invites them to broadcast their journey share request. If Ridepenguin finds a match, it informs users by SMS. From there, the individuals concerned can exchange messages or phone numbers to coordinate the pickup. The service is available both for desktop computers and for smartphones running a mobile browser.

Ridepenguin is the brainchild of Seattle software company EverythingIsTheBest, which hopes to expand coverage to other airports in the future. One to partner with to help make that happen? (Related: Londoners share lifts to Luton airport — Facilitating cab shares to the airport.)

Website: www.ridepenguin.com
Contact: team@everythingisthebest.com

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie