Location-based classifieds in 140 characters or less

Thanks to GPS-enabled mobile technologies, neighbours are communicating as never before. Where BlockChalk facilitates geo-tagged messaging in general, Anttenna focuses on creating a new, location-aware alternative to the traditional classifieds. Using a free iPhone application, Anttenna enables real-time, location-based, person-to-person exchanges by turning traditional classified listings into geo-tagged, Twitter-sized “microlistings,” as it calls them. With a platform that’s actually built on top of Twitter, Anttenna lets users quickly connect with people nearby to buy things, sell things or just reach out. Things for sale get posted to the site’s “supply chain,” while wanted goods go to its demand side; either way, posting takes less than a minute, the company says. Listings can be sorted by keyword, category, location and proximity; examples might include finding a concert ticket on location at a music festival, helping a lost pet reunite with her owner, or finding a free sofa right down the street. Following pilot tests in San Diego, Seattle and Austin, Anttenna is now available in most major metropolitan areas across the United States and Canada. Marcus Wandell, Anttenna’s cofounder and CEO, explains: “With the exception of posting ads online and making them searchable, classified ads really haven’t evolved all that much since they were introduced 300 years ago. Anttenna fully leverages the smartphone platforms and new communications standards to give people a whole new way to use classified advertising. Anttenna delivers a constant stream of hyperlocal, real-time listings, always relevant given the moment and location in which they are seen.” For businesses, of course, the advertising potential is at least as compelling. Mobile-minded entrepreneurs: time to grease the location-based buying-and-selling wheels near you…? Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann