Kevin Rose demos Oink: Check-ins for things, not places
Tired of checking into your restaurant? Check into your hamburger instead. Then rate it!
SAN FRANCISCO--At the Web 2.0 Summit, Kevin Rose of Digg fame showed off Oink--a service for checking into and rating "things," as opposed to places. Oink is the first product from Rose's new company, Milk.
You can rate, for example, the best teas at a specific location (Example: Samovar Tea Lounge) or all the teas within walking distance. Rose says early Oink users are mostly rating food and drink. But also seats at venues, attractions at theme parks, and so on.
There's a gamification element to Oink that will pay users back. "I'm a Level 4 in sushi," Rose says. Similar to becoming a "mayor" for checking into a location, Rose says that merchants will be able to find the most important social experts in a category and send them offers or deals in it.
The product will also have a feature similar to Foursquare's Radar. As Rose describes it, if it knows you're an expert in pizza, and you're in New York, "your phone will buzz and tell you" when you can walk two blocks for an awesome slice, as rated by other users.
The site is in closed beta now and is launching "in a few weeks," Rose said.