There Should Be an App For That

A friend of mine moved to Glenview this week, and after a cross-country drive and a day unpacking boxes, she needed some bourbon. Not just any bourbon, but a particularly hard-to-find brand.

I suggested she try , but they didn’t have it.  Instead of calling every other liquor store in the area, I had a brilliant idea — what if there’s an app for bourbon lovers where you can punch in your preferred spirit and your phone tells you the closest place to buy it?

I checked. There’s not. 

But I still think it’s a brilliant idea. So, with that in mind, I decided to make my wish list of 2012 apps. I solicited suggestions from friends and hope you will contribute to the list in the comments section. Maybe some of mine already exist — if so, please let me know if they’re any good.

App designers, if you’re listening, here’s what we’re hoping for:

Bourbon locator: Or Scotch locator, etc. It’s a good enough idea that I’m listing it again.

Book recommendations: Every time I step in a bookstore, I immediately forget every book I’ve been wanting to buy. I can barely conjure up authors that I know I like. I’d love an app where I can type in favorites as I think of them, then when I get to the store, some smart wizard in my phone turns out perfectly suitable recommendations, a la Netflix’s system.

I searched a bit and found iRecommend, which kinda sorta does this. Except it only takes recommendations based on one book at a time. I typed in the excellent “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” which was one of the best books I read last year, and it gave some decent advice. But I want something that will generate recommendations from some complex matrix if I type in that book, "Hunger Games" and “A Visit From the Goon Squad.”

Punch card holder: This idea came from a friend, who complained that she’s got an least three half-full manicure punch cards from her local salon. If only there was an app that would hold all of them. Turns out there are a few, like Punchd, but they, of course, require a shop’s participation. How about a universal punch card app that works no matter how small or obscure your favorite local merchant?

Facebook birthday present guide: I put the question out to my Facebook friends and one said she wants an app that automatically writes “Happy Birthday!” on friends’ walls. Another friend took that idea and pushed it a step further, suggesting that the app could take information friends sprinkle on Facebook about songs they’re listening to or movies they liked, and then recommend a gift for them on the right day. Pretty smart.

Apps that are fun fantasies but I accept that I’ll never see them: Of course the Facebook conversation devolved into the helpful, if absurd. My sister wants an app to feed her cat. A college classmate wants one to do his laundry. A scientist friend is pulling for an app to write her grant proposals.

What’s on your 2012 App Wish List?

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