Interesting Snippets

Publicis London has created a new iPhone app for homelessness charity Depaul UK called iHobo. The app, which claims to be the first ever to include interactive live action video footage, downloads a virtual homeless person who ‘lives’ in the user’s iPhone for three days. During that time, the user becomes responsible for their iHobo, a young man who has recently been made homeless. The aim for users is to keep their homeless person alive, well and off drugs, by making decisions such as when to offer food, money or emotional support, all of which impact on their iHobo’s life. … Using Apple’s push notification technology, the user is alerted whenever their iHobo needs help. However, if the alerts are ignored, the homeless person’s life soon sprials out of control, with money for food being spent on drugs etc. … Once the three-day cycle is complete, users can choose to donate either £1, £3, or £10 via a text message facility built into the app…. (So far) 100,000 people downloading the app just two weeks after being released