Hipster is a curious start-up, which is said to tie user questions to specific locations. It seems to have stirred up some interest among early adopters just ahead of its formal introduction.  A group of tech lovers in San Francisco have been talking about what it might actually be. Its CEO Doug Ludlow has not divulged much about the business model. But the market grapevine suggests it’s producing what seems to be a mysterious case study in viral marketing.

Hipster is a Question and Answer website built around a user’s current location. It can be termed a ‘Quora for location’, and looks a bit similar to Quora. More interesting is the fact that this business is already there in the form of Loqly, a mash-up of Google-powered search, local experts and real time answers. Even Ask.com has an iphone application based on location.

At some point in 2009 after Quora was launched, the concept has gradually moved from stodgy forums to all-encompassing tech trend. Many startups are taking a cue from buzzing location-based services, such as Gowalla and Foursquareby by adding location to everything from shopping to must do lists.

The latest generation of location based startups is combining the two interactive concepts of gathering and sharing information. The new location-based Q&A tools send queries about places to locals most likely to have the relevant answers. Some of them, Localmind for instance, even go so far as to tracking down potential answer givers, whereas others try to generate more general suggestions.

Formerly stealth startup it gave the eager tech followers a peep into its location-based Q&A service at a conference this year dedicating a trial version to it. Users can see popular, recent and friend activity newsfeeds. They can follow people, neighborhoods, categories, and specific queries to create a customized ‘My Topics’ feed. The app integrates with Facebook, Gowalla and Foursquare accounts to allow users to follow locations they have checked in to.

Hipster basically gives one a newsfeed revolving around queries about a location (Austin in SXSW’s case – an annual event for new creative content), where one can toggle back & forth between Popular, Recent, ‘My Topics’ and also Friends activity. You can not only follow People and Questions but also receive notifications on followed activity after logging back in to it. For adding a location to a query or reply, a user is needed to use the ‘@’ symbol and type in the location name.

Hipster lets you follow specific locations you have checked in to, as stated above, reasoning that you are likely to have questions or answers about these locations. It lets you custom auto-publish your activity of question-asking and answering to other popular networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

According to its CEO Doug Ludlow, Google is Hipster’s greatest competitor, claiming that Google cannot ‘read minds’. The vast majority of data concerning the locations (cities, businesses, neighborhoods etc.) around us is still not on the web, Ludlow states, adding that Hipster tries to match people who have specific questions with those who can provide answers. The purpose is try and bring to the fore that vast untapped information.