FoundIt!

Ending my SXSW coverage this week with a little write up of a _flossy product called FoundIt! I think the name pretty much gives it away (yep, a tech-based lost-and-found service that connects finders with members), but what you might not get from the name is how its, er, founder, an economics professor, came up with the idea. One day, his daughter left her photography portfolio in the back of a cab. Her entire creative work life, vanished without a trace. This inspired the germ of the idea, which eventually became FoundIt!

The process is pretty simple. When you join, you get all these tags and stickers to put on your important stuff. Here's a photo I took to show you what they look like.

Just about everyone has been on both ends of the losing/finding equation. And we know, from experience, that it feels good to return something to its rightful owner. So, in a sense, the product benefits everyone. The finder gets the self-satisfaction of being able to get in touch with the loser. And the loser gets to tag his/her important stuff, anonymously, concealing important identity information through the FoundIt.net site. Pretty brilliant, eh? So, if you're the type of person who loses stuff a lot, or who has anxiety about losing stuff, FoundIt! might just be for you. A whole year costs less than $10. In other words: What do you have to lose? (heh heh.)

(disclaimer: I was given a trial membership to give this thing a whirl)