Ok, so BrightKite is less “helpful” and more “fun,” but work with me here.

BrightKite is a social application that lets you check in to any location and see who is checked in around you. You can do this either with text messages from your phone, or from any browser (including your Smart Phone browser if you want to save on your text messages). And, if you’re checking in at home, for example, but don’t want people to know your address, you can set your status to Private and allow only your “trusted” friends to see your address.

But why would you want to do that?

Mostly, it’s a social application. If you’re a writer like me, you’re probably also inherently a people-watcher. It’s another way to watch people and stay in touch with your friends and acquaintances. If you use Twitter, it’s even cooler, since you can set BrightKite to update Twitter with your check-ins or posts.

Another plus is that you get to see what everyone else who has ever checked in to the same spot had to say. Sometimes you’ll get restaurant reviews, or pictures of past events, or secrets about a place you might never have known. It’s like a world-wide Easter egg hunt where anyone can leave presents to be found. I love being the first to say something useful about a place.

BrightKite is still in private beta, but if you think you might want to try it out, drop me an email. I have 5 invitations left on my account and they go to the first five responders.