POIfriend (pronounced like boyfriend), which has nothing to do with the traditional Hawaiian dish of fermented taro, aims to be “the point of interest community that connects people and the places important to them.” Sounds easy enough, right? That’s because it is. POIfriend.com is based out of Toronto and was started by Dave Krawczyk and Bill McLean. It’s essentially a social network that allows users to create and share their own POIs within their group of friends or with the entire community. Sounds pretty dumb, huh? Well, if it were just a social network to collect and share POIs then, yes, it is dumb and not worth the time to sign up, but POIfriend.com is much more than that.
I really don’t know what to think of this site…
It seems rather strange.
Maybe I’ll look into it further.
That intro video, even their product, is very abstract and ambiguous.
I now have a better understanding of what a POI is and also no better understanding of how it will benefit me.
Cool site !
I have been using it for a while now, of course you need a GPS or a personal navigation device… I am a rep for DLM foods in Canada, visiting different stores like Canadian tire Wal-Mart, Zellers and a pet specialty chain in Québec called Mondou.
Well, i found all the info on POI Friend. Meaning the exact location of every single store of the aboved named chains. For Mondou, well i created the locations myself, and, shared them with the rest of the POI community. At first i had to download the POI or Points of interest files to my PC and then on my PND, but, thanks to the good people running the site, i can now download them directly in my PND.
As well, i interact with the different users, a bit like facebook or other community type sites. i asked questions whwn i was a newbie at PND’s. answered questions for others.
I dont thinks that there is a day that i dont connect to POI Friend.
the best since i’m a francophone from Québec, i post my POI groups or other interaction in french…
the best is when in need of pertinent info for PND’s is I am sure to find it on this site…
easy to see i’m hooked on POI friends, hope it works for you…
by the way i use a Tom Tom one 3rd edition.
This POIfriend site has open up a lot of new ideas on getting the best use of your GPS both in planning trips and creating your own personal custom pois.With the prices of gps’s coming down in price many users are looking for sites like POIfriend to learn the things not covered in the owners manual.
and dont forget the price of gas ! so with the pertinent driving directions you can save lots of fuel !!!
I worked for POIfriend when it was just developing and I think the idea behind POIfriend is phenomonial. I hope that in time, POIfriend will be the biggest GPS site online. I do have a few comments about the video though, and they are only to help the webmaster in improving any future videos that POIfriend may come up with:
1) More colour and less words – people need visuals in order to capture their attention, possibly adding pictures of famous places would help
2) Have real live users of POIfriend saying testimony of how wonderful they find POIfriend
3) Rather then explaining what POIfriend is, try to give hints as to what it is and then at the end of the video, state in one sentence what POIfriend is
Good job on the video and keep up the good work! POIfriend is the beginning of a new geographical era of the future.
I LOVE this site. Unlike the reviewer, I find the site quite easy to navigate. I really like how the users themselves can suggest a modification to a specific POI within a POI group. I find, that because of these suggestions, most of the store POI groups are more accurate than the store’s own website.
Obviously I use it to download to my GPS, but I also find that I use it to find the stores closest to me. I don’t go to the actual company’s website because POIfriend is faster.
Also, hands-down, this site makes it way easier to download the POI’s to your GPS unit. To be able to use your GPS and actually see the company’s icon is awesome.
I couldn’t find any POI’s for CIBC ATM’s anywhere. This site made it really easy for me to make and share with everyone.
I really suggest you check it out.
Thanks for the great post ;D
Thank you, for this post, man
@ Maria
>2) Have real live users of POIfriend saying testimony of how wonderful they find >POIfriend
Bad idea. Everytime I see a “real user/real customer” praising a product in an ad, all I can think of is how much s/he is getting paid. The more BS I hear, the more I think the product sucks.
PoIFriend is a great concept and a sign of the rapid emergence of cool consumer applications on the GeoWeb.
Pls check out another service to help users record their GeoDiary (www.abaq.us) using any positioning device.
cheers
SJ
When do people realize that you can drive, fly or ride “out of” some place but can’t be “based out of” it but “based in”…..This stupid line keeps creeping up again and again……
I think is a great site. Yes, there are other Points of Interest sites but POIfriend makes sharing and updating much easier. I can suggest changes right at the website, no need to email the creator of the POI list to do it.
Company POI’s can be kept up to date. If they open a new store, it can be added right away and be in your GPS as soon as you download POI group. With the POIs included with the maps, it might be a year or two before it shows up.
A user or a tourist board could create locations to eat and see in an area. POIs don’t just have to be locations, they could also be used as waypoints for something like a motorcycle poker run.