Ever since the internet became an integral part of daily life, we’ve become accustomed to securing a wide range of online identities with usernames and passwords. But what happens when someone passes away, leaving their family and business associates unable to access their email, online photos, financial accounts and other online assets? It’s a problem that San Francisco-based startup Legacy Locker aims to solve.

Legacy Locker lets people store details for every online account they use, from Gmail and Facebook to eBay and PayPal. They can assign different digital assets to different beneficiaries, who are entrusted with access details in the event of the customer’s death or disability. Users can also prepare letters for the loved ones to whom they’ve entrusted their accounts. Legacy Locker, which launched last week, uses a multi-step verification process to ensure that the digital assets are as secure as a real safety deposit box. (Related: A virtual vault for information-age valuables.)

Website: www.legacylocker.com
Contact: www.legacylocker.com/support/contact

Spotted by: May Almero-Cruz

Farmers markets have long been providing individuals with a place to purchase fresh produce, but until now there have been limited opportunities for individuals with gardens and fruit trees to distribute their own (leftover) crops.

Portland-based Veggie Trader, which just launched last month, is a kind of online farmers market that connects individual produce sellers, buyers and swappers. The service was started as an effort by foodies on both coasts of the US to help other families eat well, save money and make the most of the environment—all while putting their backyards to work for the benefit of the community. How it works? Registered users post listings describing their excess produce and specify what they’d like to receive in return—food or cash. They can also locate food available nearby, either by entering their zip code or by listing their desired produce in the ‘Wanted’ section, which is organized into categories like vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, etc.

As more consumers take up urban and suburban farming, opportunities will grow for facilitators like Veggie Trader. One to set up for crop traders in your part of the world? (Related: More homegrown vegetables without the sweat.) For many more examples of concepts that help ordinary consumers make money instead of just spending it, check out trendwatching.com's latest briefing: sellsumers.

Website: www.veggietrader.com
Contact: www.veggietrader.com/contactus.php

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann & Emma Crameri

Now that electronic communications have achieved near-ubiquity, we've seen several efforts to reestablish connections with the offline world, including Postful, Gratis-Post and Peggy Mail, to name just a few. Now targeting business users comes BlueMailCentral, another hybrid solution that lets users send paper mail electronically from within any application to recipients anywhere in the world.

Users of Dutch BlueMailCentral—which incidentally was founded by Colin de Vries, of Handvertising fame—begin by registering for free and downloading the company's proprietary software. They can then create a letter using Word, Outlook or any favourite Windows XP or Vista application—Mac support is coming soon, the company says—and select the BlueMailCentral printer instead of their own. BlueMailCentral's software automatically retrieves the address in the document and sends the letter with the address through to its server. There, in turn, the letter is sorted according to country and postal or zip code, and then printed locally by a partner printing company in that country on recycled paper; a customizable and brandable preface page is also automatically created with the address positioned correctly. The letter is then inserted into a large-window envelope and presented to the local postal service on the same day. For most developed countries, delivery is within two or three days; pricing is by the country, including VAT, stamps, envelopes and paper. Online tracking is available, and letters can be recalled free of charge up until minutes before they're printed, BlueMailCentral says. BlueMailCentral is a closed system for privacy and security, and wherever possible it says it works with partners that have committed to reducing their carbon emissions.

BlueMailCentral is still in the midst of launching, but it definitely has the potential to offer businesses numerous advantages—not just the OFF=ON connection, but also speedier delivery and reduced emissions since printing and mailing are both done locally. We wouldn't be surprised to see this type of service become standard through postal companies or shipping options like FedEx or UPS; one to get in on early in your part of the world?

Website: www.bluemailcentral.com
Contact: hello@bluemailcentral.com

Just as Helen of Troy's face launched a thousand ships, so one might say Google Maps is inspiring the launch of a thousand new applications. Case in point: Tokyo Jogging, a new mashup of Wii technology and Google Maps that allows users to take a virtual jog through the streets of Tokyo.

Created by software engineer Ryo Katsuma, Tokyo Jogging functions much like Wii Sports Jogging. Users begin by downloading free server software from the site. They then connect their Wiimote to Google Maps' Street View, and hold the Wiimote while jogging in place in front of their computer. Google's Street View guides them along the streets of Tokyo, giving the impression of a brisk jog through the city. A video demonstrates the application in action.

There once was a day where online was on, offline was off, and never the twain did meet. Those days are gone! Today OFF=ON and ON=OFF, as our sister site likes to say, and riches await those who can make the most of the intersection. Read up, be inspired, and start some mashing up of your own! (Related: Online game focuses on real-world kindness.)

Website: www.tokyo-jogging.com
Contact: katsuma@gmail.com

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Everyone knows that baked goods tend to be best when fresh from the oven; the challenge for bakery customers is predicting when that might be. New technology from London agency Poke now removes the guesswork, however, by enabling bakeries to alert their customers via Twitter any time a new batch is done.

Much the way fans of LA's Kogi Korean BBQ can follow the company on Twitter to find out where its taco truck is at any given moment, so BakerTweet allows bakers to keep their customers informed. But because bakery kitchens don't tend to be hospitable to electronic devices—replete as they are with flour, eggs and other messy stuff—BakerTweet uses a specially designed box that can withstand the messiest kitchen conditions. Bakers begin by creating an account online with BakerTweet using their regular computer, inputting all the baked items they want to Twitter about along with the body of the Tweet that will be sent out for each. Back in the kitchens, the wall-mountable BakerTweet box captures that information, allowing bakers to simply turn a dial to select which item they want to Tweet about at that moment ("Fresh Buns," for example) and then push a button to send the full Tweet wirelessly to Twitter. Customers following the bakery then get updated immediately when it's time to go get those buns. A video on Vimeo demonstrates BakerTweet in action.

Poke staff originally developed BakerTweet for the Albion Cafe—its neighbour in Shoreditch, London, and currently the site of the only prototype device—for the very practical purpose of finding out the best time to go get stuff there. (To find out what's available, they simply follow @albionsoven.) However, as the company sagely notes itself, the technology is eminently applicable to just about any business that needs to communicate quickly and easily in real time about offers, pricing, stocks or other information. There's no word yet on pricing or availability; nevertheless, BakerTweet is not only a no-brainer to be implemented by bakers the world over as soon as possible, it's also yet another tasty illustration of the increasingly blurred lines between the online and offline worlds, as our sister site describes in its OFF=ON briefing. One to implement, adapt or partner with in the application of your choice!

Website: www.bakertweet.com
Contact: iwantone@bakertweet.com

Spotted by: Core77