We've seen the social shopping trend manifested in various forms in recent years, including TeethYou, the Chinese site we covered back in 2007 that let shopping fans show off their favourite purchases. Adding to that concept a heady splash of so-called nowism is Blippy, a Twitter-like effort that lets users automatically publish their shopping transactions in real time for all the world to see.

Launched to the public just last week, California-based Blippy bills itself as “a fun and easy way to see and discuss the things people are buying.” Friends can select to follow each other, meaning that they'll see a constantly updated feed of those people's purchases. Followers can both comment on and “like” transactions as they move through the stream. Each user decides which purchase categories they'd like to share; they can choose to automatically share purchases at vendors like iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and Blockbuster, for example, or they can publish all those made through a particular credit card, debit card or bank account. They can also deliberately keep more private transactions to a “non-Blippy” account.

There are obviously privacy considerations associated with using Blippy, though the site says it performs “super-human feats” to protect its users' data. The potential benefits, however, are intriguing. In addition to paving the way for affiliate fees through the vendors that get mentioned in its stream, Blippy also stands to increase transparency by facilitating reviews and comparisons. To wit: “Imagine being able to tell if you’re getting ripped off with what you’re paying for a gym membership or on your Comcast bill when compared to what your friends are spending on the same things,” as TechCrunch points out. An API is also reportedly in the works, promising even more transparency in the future. In the meantime, one to watch! (Related: Cheap & simple credit card processing for everyone.)

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

Spotted by: Benoit Rigaut

The mobile apps continue to come fast and furious in industries far and wide. One of our latest spottings? An iPhone app from insurer State Farm that lets customers look up policy information, record accident details and submit claims.

Available both for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, State Farm Pocket Agent is a free application with features for all consumers, whether or not they're already customers. Its On the Road feature, for example, uses the iPhone's GPS to help users find the nearest hotel or gas station or call a tow truck, taxi, locksmith or rental car service. A built-in checklist, on the other hand, reminds drivers what to do when they're in an accident. Then, of course, there's a way to look for nearby agents. Registered State Farm customers, meanwhile, can do all that plus look up their policy information, record accident details and submit claims, including photos of the accident taken with their iPhone cameras.

Serving as a sort of mobile brand butler, as our sister site would say, Pocket Agent is just one of many examples of the myriad new opportunities enabled by the iPhone and Android platforms. Make consumers' lives easier when they need it most, and they're more likely to become—and remain—loyal customers. (Related: Real-time flight reviews via Android and iPhone — Zipcar's iPhone app finds and unlocks cars — Adidas creates free iPhone guide to Berlin's street art — ING app for G1 phone uses camera & compass to show nearest ATM.)

Website: www.statefarm.com/iphone/index.asp?WT.svl=104

Spotted by: Chris

An entrepreneur may have the best product in the world, but if he or she doesn't accept credit cards, it can be a problem. That's something St. Louis glass artist Jim McKelvey learned the hard way, and it's also why he was inspired to create Square.

Cofounded with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Square lets small business owners begin accepting payment cards immediately without the contracts, expensive hardware, monthly fees or hidden costs that are typically required. Using Square's intuitive app and a small plastic device that plugs into a mobile phone's audio input jack, payment cards can be swiped and read anywhere. Customers can have receipts sent to them via email or mobile phone and then access them securely online; they can also use text messaging to authorize every payment in real-time. For those who create a Square account, meanwhile, there's faster transaction processing and the option of photo verification. Now in limited beta, Square will donate a penny from every transaction to the cause of the user's choice. It will be widely available in early 2010. The reader devices will likely be free, while the app will cost about USD 1, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Similar in many ways to ProcessAway, which we covered earlier this year, Square promises to open up a whole new world of opportunity for sellsumers and minipreneurs. One to get in on early?

Website: www.squareup.com
Contact: partners@squareup.com

Credit card debt is an all-too-familiar topic for all too many consumers. While the US government is working on its own solutions to that problem, Chase Card Services recently rolled out a new set of tools designed to help its customers manage their debt better.

Chase Blueprint offers free tools consumers can use to pay down balances, manage everyday spending and pay off major purchases. Going well beyond simply helping users analyze their spending, Blueprint is fully integrated into customers' accounts, enabling them to create customized payment plans—changeable without penalty—and track their progress on every statement, literally spelling out "sofa" or "new laptop". The offering's Full Pay feature, for example, allows customers to decide which expenses they want to pay in full every month and set those purchases aside so as to avoid interest charges by paying them in full each month. Blueprint's Finish It tool, meanwhile, gives customers the flexibility to create a plan to pay down their current balance faster, allowing them to choose a goal payoff date. Chase does the math, calculates the monthly payments, sets up the plan and charts customers’ progress toward achieving their goal on each monthly statement and online.

Available to the 20 million or so users of the Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire, Slate and Ink cards, the new Blueprint service is the result of a customer survey indicating that consumers want more control over their finances. Gordon Smith, CEO of Chase Card Services, explains: "Given today's economic environment, the kind of flexibility and control that Blueprint offers is especially important. Blueprint enhances Chase's partnership with our customers by helping them better manage their finances—setting them up for long-term success. This strengthens our relationship with our customers and helps make Chase their card of choice."

Indeed, with its focus on the challenges currently faced by many credit consumers, Blueprint is one part proactive perk and one part sympathy for those heavily burdened with debt. The lesson? Never forget that tough times are an opportunity to show you care!

Website: www.chase.com/blueprint
Contact: www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/shared/assets/page/email

Ireland has been particularly hard-hit by the current economic recession, spurring initiatives like the recent iQ Prize, whereby Dublin internet consultancy iQ Content awarded EUR 10,000 to a promising young Irish startup as a way to help kick-start the country's recovery. Proving once again that there are few things as contagious as a good idea, Outvesting has now launched a similar effort, only this time it's a grassroots one that's using a crowdfunding approach via Twitter.

Outvesting aims to give EUR 5,000 with no strings attached to an Irish startup. To make that possible, it's using Twitter to invite interested participants to contribute EUR 50 each towards the effort. Once EUR 5,000 has been raised—last week it was already up to EUR 4,500—Outvesting will announce how startups can apply. Those who donate to the fund, meanwhile, will get more than just good karma in return—they'll also get the chance to vote on which startup wins the money.

There's no arguing with corporate donations like iQ Content's, but those tend to be limited in number; crowdfunding approaches, on the other hand, are virtually limitless in what they can achieve. Combine the power of the crowds with the reach of Twitter, and there's no telling how far an effort can go. One to replicate in a recession-weary community near you...? (Related: Free Chinese lessons for the Irish — Crowdsourcing economic solutions for Ireland.)

Website: www.outvesting.org
Contact: twitter.com/outvesting — johnkeyes@gmail.com

Spotted by: AJ O'Flaherty