Brightkite fails miserably at the one thing they should do best. Twitter and Pownce already do a better job as a microblog or a stream of consciousness publishing platform. Brightkite is, or should be, a platform for facilitating real life interaction. But how well does it work?

I went to lunch today with @rachijan, and tried to update my Brightkite location while I was there. Here’s the transcript of my conversation with the Brightkite robot:

Me:
?goodwood barbecue company Orem ut

Brightkite:
Sorry, but we couldn’t find that business in Orem. Make sure you spelled it correctly and are in the correct city, or check in at its address.

Me:
?goodwood Orem ut

Brightkite:
Sorry, but we couldn’t find that business in Orem. Make sure you spelled it correctly and are in the correct city, or check in at its address.

I give up and ask the Google where it’s at…

Me (to Google):
Goodwood Orem ut

Google:
Local Listings:
Goodwood Barbecue Co
777 University Pkwy
Orem, 84097
 …

Thank you, Google. They even gave me a phone number and another location! Now back to Brightkite madness.

Me:
@ 777 University Pkwy
Orem, 84097

Brightkite:
Are you sure that you want to check in @ 777 University Pkwy, Johnson City, TN 37604, USA? Reply with Y to confirm, or try again.

Me:
@ 777 University Pkwy
Orem, UT 84097

Brightkite:
Are you sure that you want to check in @ 777 University Pkwy, Johnson City, TN 37604, USA? Reply with Y to confirm, or try again.

Me:
@ 777 University Pkwy
Orem, UT

Brightkite:
Are you sure that you want to check in @ 777 University Pkwy, Johnson City, TN 37604, USA? Reply with Y to confirm, or try again.

Me:
@ 777 University Pkwy 84097

Brightkite:
You checked in @777 University Pkwy, Orem, UT 84097, USA. 1 users, 0 friends, 1 past visitors. Reply with SAY HELLO to post ‘HELLO’ here.

No wonder nobody else has checked in at the GoodWood in Orem, Utah. They prob’ly didn’t have enough patience. All this fiddling with my cell phone was hampering social interaction, not facilitating it.

I don’t care about posting notes or pictures. I already have plenty of ways to do that. The one feature I want from Brightkite is the ability to tag my location on a map. At this, Brightkite fails miserably.