GEON Network Rolls Out New Mobile App

On the surface, GEON Network’s new mobile app might seem like a moulange of buzzwords. Looking at it more closely, meanwhile, reveals a novel new application for some familiar mobile payments principles as well as some other mobile operations. GEON’s clever combination of Pokemon Go-style gameplay and blockchain operations creates an app that’s useful for marketing projects, charitable operations, and more.

With the GEON mobile app, users can create Geons, a virtual object that can store value—in the form of Geocoins (also known as Geon Coins)—like a cryptocurrency to be withdrawn by others later. A Geon effectively can operate almost like a digital prepaid card, which can then be shaped in any fashion the issuer likes. Issuers can then virtually scatter them around a location or connect them to various activities, and those who lay hands-virtually, of course-on a Geon can cash them in for other cryptocurrencies or even the local fiat currency.

This works well for marketing operations—retailers can secret a Geon somewhere in the store for customers to find, and then require the customer who actually finds the Geon to buy something in order to gain access to the Geocoins contained within—as well as charitable giving. Users can send the Geocoins via a Geon to a disaster site or destination for charity and the recipients can cash in accordingly. It also makes an excellent fundraising opportunity; the chance to hunt a Geon and get access to its withdrawal codes could be set up in a fairly thrilling race or scavenger hunt-style event.

There are some issues with this concept. Perhaps the biggest is determining just how much a Geon Coin is worth. If the coins don’t have much value, it’s a safe bet that no one’s going to care much either way. Additionally, it’s not likely to solve the need for marketing; after all, people still need to know a place exists. It’s one thing to offer a reward you can hunt for by shopping there and receive by buying things, but the most you’ll get out of that is a word-of-mouth campaign. That only works so well.

Still, it’s a clever idea, and if some of the issues can be addressed, it may allow a mobile payments concept to work on several different levels.