It’s not all fun and games for the Scoutmob product team. Amidst leisure activities, they have been working hard to bring you even more Scoutmob app goodness {like search functionality!}. Version 2.9.2 of the iPhone app is now available in the iTunes store. Download it now for the latest and greatest features. 

City Map View

Use the new visual view of Scoutmob’s deals to explore nearby local businesses, or near where you plan to be later. Mapping functionality on each individual deal page makes getting directions seamless.

Pop-up Deals

Like Bigfoot, special opportunities will occasionally show themselves. These rare deals are exclusively for app users, and limited to specific dates and times. When valid, they appear in the main deal flow. But when they’re gone, they’re gone.

The app also experienced a few cosmetic updates, including, but not limited to:

• Photos and pretty newness for deal pages
• Bonus hilarity in the deal list refresher
• Notification badges for new deals added to the app

That’s all for now folks. Stay tuned for even MOAR goodness coming soon to an iPhone near you.

We are pleased as punch to introduce our little bundle of How It Works joy. Like a beacon of light in a sad, boring world, this newfangled pop-up book will enlighten the uninitiated. Never again will you or your comrades wonder “what’s the deal?” Behold, it is Scoutmob.

A hearty congratulations to Leslie Burkitt of Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood, the winner of Scoutmob’s one year pass to the Earl. Along with pretty much everyone we know, Leslie is already a huge fan of the music experiences brought to us by the Earl, especially that show a few years back with Zombi and TransAm. She was overcome by excitement to hear she won the golden ticket to attend dozens of performances at this local gem thanks to Scoutmob, the Earl and Ticket Alternative. Music to our ears.

Our occasional series of testimonials from the local business trenches continues today with the story of Kay Bob’s Sandwiches, a new venture from a seasoned Nashville restauranteur. After Kay Bob’s went live on Scoutmob on January 9, we received this this feedback.

The Kay Bob’s website (WordPress) let’s me see where visits come from. On Sunday, Scoutmob was not on this list. Today, you blew everyone else away.

These are total visits dating from when the Kay Bob site went live in early December.

1. scoutmob.com - 184 Visits

2. urbanspoon.com - 80 Visits

3. yelp.com - 63 Visits

4. nashvillerestaurants.blogspot.com - 46 Visits

5. facebook.com - 33 Visits

Interesting to me, you guys beat Yelp in one day (though they’ve had over a month to send traffic our way).

I’m also thinking you somehow gave a bump to Yelp and Urbanspoon hits (People probably saw the Scoutmob deal then went to Yelp or Urbanspoon to read up further on Kay Bob’s).

There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. 

My new sounds:

A hearty congratulations to SF music-lover Morgan, winner of a one year pass to the best venues in the city via Ticketfly.

This Marina resident has been jamming out in the city, like seen here at the Stone Temple Pilots/Cheap Trick show. When she isn’t saving lives of other’s via her day job as a nurse, you may find her rocking out at Bimbos or the Red Devil Lounge. Morgan plans to share her winnings with all of her (awesome) friends by inviting them to join her for a concert or two. Sharing is caring!

Can’t wait to see photos from all the amazing shows she will be attending courtesy of Ticketfly. Rock on Morgan!

Read on for the expert opinions.

mobrumblings:

A host of claims, conjectures and sweeping generalizations have been made as to the future of mobile marketing, social commerce, daily deals, hyperlocal content and who the heck is using Google+. What can we expect for 2012?

Feels like everything. 

Food Online: Restaurant dining and cooking…

To our beloved family, friends, colleagues, and guy who has no idea why searching “fat hairy Turkish man” landed him on this Tumblr:

Holiday greetings to you and yours! In true self-indulgent holiday card fashion, we’d like to take this time to brag about all the slightly significant events of 2011. It was most definitely our best second year yet! 

Can you believe it? Last year, there were just 3 of us: Atlanta, NYC, and a new baby, SF. This year, we’ve been blessed to bring on 10 healthy, beautiful new cities (and definitely not by accident!) We love them all equally, and can’t wait to watch them grow like the rest of our busy brood.

Between all of this breeding, we found time to put on some amazing parties and make new friends with the likes of Foursquare and Foodspotting. We also collaborated with the likes of Public Bikes, Savored, Lot 18, and Etsy to give back to our people with fun prizes! You could even consider us a year-round version of Santa! (But, shhhh, don’t tell the kids!!!)  

Meanwhile, everyday, we’re tirelessly working to make our app even better for our users. It’s the never-ending mission of self-improvement, right? (Next year: power walking!) We added Blackberry along with the Android and iPhone, and—finally!—search function and other goodies to the iPhone! Phew!

There’s so much more we could share with you about this wonderful year, but we want to keep it brief (cough, cough, a Webby Award) and don’t want to ramble too much about our good fortune (ahem, CNN, Mashable, Clark Howard, New York Times, Wall Street Journal) in 2011. Really, we’re just so lucky to be healthy and alive!!! 

Also! We went to the beach!

Here’s to an even more wonderful, prosperous 2012 for you and yours. And for us too… if it’s kosher to jump in on that.

Love and hugs from the Scoutmob founders,

Michael & Dave

It’s the holidays. You’re in gift-buying, festive party-planning, dining out with friends mode. So what better time of year to jump aboard the Scoutmob “shop indie” bandwagon and make a point to support creative entrepreneurs.

I’ve managed to skip the mall, avoid the big box, and gift those who matter most with treasures from creative entrepreneurs this season. Scoutmob was created to support fellow citizens who make their living out of making our cities great. How much would your neighborhood benefit if everyone spent $100 locally this holiday season? A worthy question answered by the good folks at Independent We Stand. 

And now, the carrot: three pledgers will each win $200 to spend at Etsy, the world’s handmade marketplace, and fellow supporter of the little guy. 

Nearly 6000 have taken the pledge. Let’s get 10,000 by December 31. Say it with us now:

“I hereby state my allegiance to independent businesses this season. I will use my dollars to support entrepreneurs who make this city great. And I shall encourage my compatriots to do the same. This is my solemn virtual pinky swear.”

Go out there and make it happen with these great resources:

• Fire up the Scoutmob mobile app to scout deals at our favorite local businesses near you
• Use the Record Store Day store locator to find independently owned music-lover meccas the world over
• Read up on design-minded local shops in Design*Sponge’s city guides
• Browse recommendations from Etsy users. Bonus points for using Etsy’s Search Local feature. 

Ever tried to browse Scoutmob-approved businesses near your home, while whiling away time at the office? Ever combed through the list of deals, trying to find that new hot spot featured last month?

Update your friendly Scoutmob iPhone app, and your directionless days are over. The latest iPhone update introduces the ability to search the extensive list of current Scoutmob deals by name and neighborhood. Try searching “pizza” or “Midtown”. It’s magical.

And this is only the beginning. The Scoutmob app is long due for exciting new features, and this update includes lots of under the hood improvements to pave the way. It’s a Christmas miracle.