If e-mail signatures can be put to work to help support a political candidate, just imagine the impact they could make for charity. That's essentially the rationale behind Replyforall, a site that uses custom e-mail signatures to raise not just awareness but cold, hard cash for a select group of charitable causes.

San Francisco-based Replyforall gives users a way to raise money for their favourite causes by simply adding a tailored signature to the e-mails they normally send. The service is currently available for Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail / WindowsLive / MSN—with others coming soon—and it's completely free for users. Cause-minded people need only sign up on the site and choose the cause they want to support. The signature they create will show that cause along with Replyforall's participating financial sponsor, and it can also be personalized to include additional elements such as a rotating fact associated with their cause, a school club or the user's contact information. Either way, the result is that when users send e-mails, their Replyforall signature is automatically inserted into their messages (it is possible to omit it for select messages, however). Sponsors pay to reach users and their recipients, and Replyforall shares sponsors' payments proportionately among the causes users have selected. Users can track the impact of their own support via a personal impact page. Replyforall, meanwhile, donates funds to the causes every quarter and regularly reports back with the impact of those donations.

Sponsors on the site include Virgin Mobile, TOMS Shoes, The Body Shop and confectioner sweetriot, while causes include the ASPCA, Wildlife Trust, the Clean Energy Coalition and Engineers without Borders. Replyforall is actively seeking more sponsors. One to team up with for a better world—and better image? ;-) (Related: Viral music sales through widgets.)

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

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Dogs can wear a SNIF Tag to help their owners make new friends; now pet owners can return the favour by using Dogtree, a social networking site designed especially for dogs.

Australian Dogtree is a free service that aims to help dog owners find playmates and walking friends for their canine companions. To search for doggie friends, human users can simply enter their postal code; more advanced search options are also available, such as breed and size. Either way, the result is a list of other suitable canine members in their area. Once they find some that seem like a good match, dog owners can invite them through the site for a playdate or meeting. There are currently almost 600 members on Dogtree, and most elect to use their dog's photo and name as their username on the site.

Need we say more? Now that social networking has covered most of the developed world's human population, niche applications are coming fast and furious—and even extending to some of mankind's best friends. Cats may be less amenable to the social networking experience, we suspect, but how long before this comes to other sociable species? Advertisers of related products: get ready, or get involved!

Website: www.dogtree.com.au
Contact: www.dogtree.com.au/help_contact.php

Spotted by: Judy McRae

We’ve covered several food brands that provide consumers with detailed information on the sources and background of their spinach, bananas and coffee. It’s a trend that continues to pick up steam, as witnessed by condiment maker Beerenberg’s introduction of Provenance Pathway, an online tool that lets customers trace their jam or sauce from ‘soil to shelf’.

After purchasing a Beerenberg product, customers enter the item’s barcode and expiration date on the company’s website. An overview of the product appears, including photos of the people who made it, full product specifications, and an elegant implementation of Google Earth to map the farms where the main ingredients originated. Launched this month, Provenance Pathway is part of the Australian company’s recent revamp to underscore the ‘home-made’ authenticity of its brand. Despite being a major food manufacturer, Beerenberg wants to emphasize that its traditional recipes are still cooked in open steam kettles, free from artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.

Now that major brands are tapping into the power of transparency to emphasize their grass-roots qualities, it will be interesting to see just what the grass-roots companies do. ;-)

Website: www.beerenberg.com.au
Contact: admin@beerenberg.com.au

Sites that feature user reviews, photos and descriptions have already brought transparency to hotel rooms and airplane seats, to name just two of our favourite examples. Now the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder is bringing a similar type of openness to the world of playgrounds.

The KaBOOM! Playspace Finder, currently in beta, is a user-generated online directory from playground-focused nonprofit KaBOOM! that lets anyone enter, search for and rate play spaces in their community. Using the free site, parents, kids and community members in general can locate playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and even ice rinks across North America. Some 11,800 play areas are listed on the Google Maps-based site, which can be searched by region or name; a search filter lets users focus in on specific types of parks. Users can also add photos and comments for each play space, as well as detailed descriptions including the playground equipment or amenities that are available there and an overall estimation of the spot's "play value." Community service credit and Girl Scout patches are even available for contributing to the Playspace Finder, KaBOOM! says. Ultimately, the Washington, D.C.-based group hopes the site will help alert local communities to recreational areas that need some help.

Darell Hammond, KaBOOM!'s cofounder and CEO, explains: “Play is a vital component of a child’s life, contributing to their physical, emotional, mental and social development. In light of our work and our vision, we felt it was our duty to provide a resource for locating great places to play. However, the success of this project relies upon people across the country providing data and reviews about their parks. So, get out to a park and play, but then come back and tell everyone about your experience—good or bad.”

Supported through a sponsorship by Kool-Aid, KaBOOM!'s Playspace Finder is yet another testament to the power of transparency to make things better. One to emulate in other parts of the world? (Related: Local tips for parents.)

Website: playspacefinder.kaboom.org
Contact: playspacefinder.kaboom.org/contact

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Asian consumers who like to try before they buy can already do so at product-sampling centers such as Sampleplaza, Club C and Sample Lab. Hard on the heels of Sample Lab's announcement that it's expanding globally, a like-minded contender is now gearing up to open across the world.

Sample U is housed on the San Diego campus of Alliant International University through a joint effort with the institution to offer new market research opportunities. Alliant is providing the facility and staff—professors and students among them—while Sample U is focusing on securing clients, working with product developers on product packages or campaigns, and bringing in consumers. A variety of products will be tested at Sample U, and consumers interested in sampling them will first be asked to fill out detailed profiles for demographic information; eventually, interested consumers will be given memberships at the lab, Sample U says. Following a session at Sample U, which includes completing a survey about the tested products, testers will also be given some to take home and discuss with friends. Sample U already opened briefly to test its concept, but had to close early due to overwhelming demand, it says. It will launch officially in June.

Mass-media advertising may have had its day, but now it's a rare consumer who wouldn't rather try the product out themselves. From Shanghai to San Diego and everyplace in between, the world is filled with trysumers eager for some tryvertising. How about obliging them in your neck of the woods...?

Website: www.sample-u.com
Contact: m.adams@sample-u.com