GSoC Proposal: Android LoCo App

[Joe Smith]

Greetings,

I'm Joe Smith, a senior at Chapman University in Orange, CA. I have
been an active member of the Ubuntu California team since 2007, and
have been involved in various aspects of the Ubuntu community over the
years, from bug triage, packaging, upstream contributions, several
conference booths, and an Open Week Presentation. If you'd like to see
the full list, please check out my wiki at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Yasumoto

I am so stoked to work on an Android LoCo Team App as my Summer
of Code project. The idea came (as many do) from a conversation with
Jono Bacon, who said that he'd love to have a way to get in touch with other
nearby Ubunteros. The App will consist of three main features. We can
harness GPS and an identi.ca or Twitter hashtag to send messages and
help local Ubuntu members meet up. There are also plans to include a
Local LoCo Search to display your nearest LoCo team, and an Ubuntu
news aggregtor. I've drawn out a UI
mockup, and will attach it to the spec at
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Specs/LoCoAndroidApp

I think that this will be of great value to the Ubuntu Community,
there have been plenty of times that I've been with friends at a
coffee shop and would have welcomed others to join in for questions or
a discussion about Ubuntu. Having a way to stay connected with your
community even when not in front of your computer is something that is
important to many, and I believe this application will take a large step
toward that. I am very open to ideas and suggestions, I really want this to
become an app for the community, by the community.

Thank you,
Joe Smith