how can i add a business name to a placemark?

oh right, but then it shows up as that URL that i posted above; it doesn't say anywhere that it's a gym (on that page, or on twitter: http://twitter.com/jonk/statuses/7990...). so i have send off an extra tweet that says i'm at the gym.

it'd help if it said (especially since i created the placemark on the web by using the business search):

jonk checked in at:
Bally Fitness
35630 Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94536, USA - about 2 hours ago - via sms

OR, if it could just show the placemark name:

jonk checked in at:
"gym"
35630 Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94536, USA - about 2 hours ago - via sms

jon :)

thanks!

Can we publicly name business locations? so that it can become shorthand @ messages for everyone? e.g. I'm getting my coworkers at Berkeley Coworking on bkite, and we'd all like the ability to just sms @berkeleycoworking.

Also, there's a real opportunity to produce a yelp.com like functionality if users can name their locations globally and then leave specific comments about whatever business is at that location.

I've always liked the way dodgeball let me add locations, and it seems like requiring a specific address would eliminate the problem with dupes. How about it?

@jon|k-Judging by a friend of mine's posts, i think he has hacked a way to do exactly what you are trying to do. I will find out and post what he is doing.

@alicia- I am seeing the dupe issue. Need to fix that asap before content gets out of control

I sometimes come across business names that aren't entirely accurate. For instance, today, I went to The Home Depot in Lake Forest, CA. When doing a search on my iPhone, it came up with "The Home Depot Tool Rental of Lake Forest" at 20021 Lake Forest Dr, Lake Forest, CA.

Until Brightkite makes adding custom locations easier, you can do this:

1. Type the address followed by [Place Name]. For example:
20021 Lake Forest Dr, Lake Forest, CA [The Home Depot]

2. Brightkite will return the address with the location being named "The Home Depot." You can then check in to that location or save it as a Placemark. Your custom naming will remain.

What's nice is that Brightkite ties everything to the address, so it doesn't matter if you're checking in to the location by business, address, or custom Placemark, it'll all be considered to be at the same location.

Also, anyone following your locations can check in or save under their own Placemarks and retain whatever custom naming you've done.

I don't know if this is possible over SMS, but I do this through both my laptop and through my iPhone.

I just read on http://blog.brightkite.com that Tony aka "complex" whipped up a generic mobile version of Brightkite. I just tested my instruction above and it works as advertised. Great job Tony! Look for my friend request.

The mobile version is here: http://m.brightkite.com

Hope this helps.