Yogi Land

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Each weekend, Mashable hand-picks a few startups that we think are building interesting, unique or niche products. Here we’re featuring a collection of applications that might come in handy this weekend depending on your mood.

If you’re in a playful state of mind, Shnap for iPhone will command your attention and challenge you to an intricate game of rating and producing stylized photos. Trust us, it’s more fun than it sounds. For the bargain hunter with an iPhone or Android device, there’s Social Listing, an app that could help you discover the hidden treasures your neighbors are ready to part with.

Self-promoters can occupy their free time by creating a shareable social calendar of their upcoming events and appearances using Simply Events. And if you’re in the mood to be generous, but in an obvious sort of way, Givey will let you make a donation and share it with your followers on Twitter, all with a single tweet.

---

Shnap: Are Your Stylized Photos Cool or Meh?

---

Quick Pitch: Shnap [iTunes link] is a social iPhone game where Hot or Not meets Instagram.

Genius Idea: Using game mechanics to make applying filters and effects more addicting than it already is.

Mashable’s Take: Not yet sold on the mobile and filtered photo sharing craze? Perhaps the competitive nature of Shnap will change your mind. The iPhone application invites you to rate users’ stylized photos, or “Shnaps” as they’re called in the app, by selecting one of five ratings: LOL, Meh, WTF, Cool or Wow.

Of course, the flip side is that app users can also rate and comment on your Shnaps. The application incentivizes behavior with Shnap bucks — you earn bucks for each rating — and a level system. Level 1 noobs have limited access to effects, but those who level up will unlock higher-quality photo filter options.

“Instead of passively browsing a grid of photos, users are shown one photo at a time and encouraged to rate it,” Shnap creator and ex-Googler Kuan Yong tells Mashable. “There is a scoring system for posting and rating shnaps, and a complete social network where users can establish friend relationships, message one another and post shnaps to other social networks.”

The application experience is super slick and quite fun — what Shnap lacks in meaningful purpose it more than makes up for in style. Still, we’d love actual Instagram integration and more convenient options for finding and adding friends.

---

Givey: Give & Tweet at the Same Time

---

Quick Pitch: Givey allows user to make tax-efficient, secure donations to charity by tweeting or sending an SMS.

Genius Idea: Instant and social donations.

Mashable’s Take: By encouraging $10 text message donations in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, the Red Cross raised millions and proved that people will donate if they have a fast and simple way to do so. Givey, a UK fundraising startup that launched in late May, is taking this fast and simple donation model and making it more social and personal.

The idea: Allow people to donate between £1and £500 via Twitter or SMS whenever they want — to the charity of their choosing. Givey partners with PayPal and MissionFish for the payments components so that once a user registers, all he needs to do is a select a charity and tweet or text his donation.

Givey is currently only available to UK tax payers, but the startup is planning a U.S. launch for later this year.

---

Simply Events: Create & Share Your Social Agenda

---

Quick Pitch: Add your future social activities and events to your calendar to share with friends and family.

Genius Idea: A simple way to promote and share your appearances, speaking engagements or activities in a single place.

Mashable’s Take: You can use Simply Events as way to keep friends, family members or even strangers in the know about your social agenda. The tool seems best suited for public speakers, authors, uber-social types or anyone looking to promote their own appearances or agenda.

Friends can use it privately to coordinate get-togethers, organizations can use it to promote their events and public figures can “shout” their appearances while also posting to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

With so many calendaring and event apps — Plancast, Lanyrd and Facebook come to mind — Simply Events needs to do a better job at answering the “Why should I use the app?” question. It’s also in dire need of deeper Facebook integration.

---

Social Listing: Mobile & Local Classified Ads

---

Quick Pitch: Social Listing is a simple and fast mobile app that connects local buyers to sellers.

Genius Idea: Classifieds reinvented for Android and iPhone.

Mashable’s Take: iPhone and Android users looking for a more mobile way to browse or post classified ads might consider using Social Listing.

The application does not have anywhere near the quantity of ads or audience as Craigslist, but it does make it easy to scroll through and checkout nearby for-sale items. Sellers can use the app to snap a photo, name a price and send the listing to nearby Social Listing users, Facebook or Twitter.

Try as they might, classifieds startups have yet to knock Craigslist off its almighty throne. Social Listing will need much more than mobile appeal to beat the staunch incumbent of online classifieds.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, catscandotcom

---

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

---

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: bizspark, charity, Givey, Shnap, Simply Events, Social Listing, spark-of-genius

For more Startups coverage:

• Follow Mashable Startups on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to the Startups channel
• Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

Giving people free stuff is a great way to convince them to do something, especially when they get that free stuff just by cutting down their energy bills.

Earth Aid is a web app that operates a lot like Mint.com for your energy bill. Signing up for the free service will allow it to read your meter and track your output over time, giving you an online energy budget. The more energy you save on your electric, water, and gas bills, the more points you earn. These points can then be redeemed for rewards from local businesses and big brands such as Starbucks and Dove. The goal is to help you decrease your energy use and save some cash month-to-month.

Earth Aid recently received more than $4 million in Series A funding and has partnered with major institutions like the U.S. Green Building Council. The council uses the web app to make sure LEED-certified buildings continue to maintain their eco-friendly standards.

But the app doesn’t just rely on outside funding. “We’ve been making money,” said Earth Aid CEO Ben Bixby. “We’re really serious about finding a sustainable way — not just environmentally but economically, to deliver these solutions and this opportunity to people.” Bixby explained that Earth Aid gets paid when it helps people save energy. It earns a commission when users choose certain rewards products or when the company’s partners get new customers through the app.

Earth Aid is in the midst of launching a new version of the web app that also works on mobile browsers. New features include ways to break up your energy bill so you can read it by calendar month or in smaller increments. By moving away from the convention of seeing an energy bill once a month, Bixby hopes that usage becomes a daily conversation rather than a monthly headache.

The app also includes group features, where you can challenge and converse with friends or take advantage of the “automated bragging” feature, Bixby’s affectionate way of referring to social network integration. Depending on personal proclivities, users can share all of their usage updates or just share when they show improvements.

One major problem with Earth Aid is that rewards are based on a personal baseline calculated from your own energy usage history. This means rewards are given based on personal performance as opposed to overall output. Someone who maintains a low output won’t get rewarded as much as someone who cuts back, even if they still use more energy. It’s a problem that Earth Aid is working to fix.

There is also the question of intent. If someone cuts their output just to win rewards, isn’t that sending the wrong message about sustainability? Bixby understands there are some people that will use Earth Aid just for the rewards and others that are actively trying to monitor their ecological footprint. “Whether it’s important for you to save energy and the rewards are a bonus, or if it’s important for you to just win awards, the outcome is the same,” Bixby said. “We’re trying to build an app that serves all people. Those that are green already and people that are just trying to save money for the fun stuff in life.”

Will you give Earth Aid a shot? Does it matter if social good occurs as a result of awards or do the ends justify the means? Sound off in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flcikr, stevendepolo

More About: charity, earth aid, environment, non-profit, social good, web app

For more Social Good coverage:

• Follow Mashable Social Good on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to the Social Good channel
• Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

Life seems like a night of gambling at a charity event. You always bet for the most returns with the least stakes… When you lose, you lose what you don't have, but when you win, you get a chance to help others…