The arrival of location-based journalism that employs technology to layer visual information with text --- a form of augmented reality --- offers great journalistic opportunities.

An example: Pointing your iPhone video application at a restaurant and seeing reviews of that eatery on the screen, or pointing one at a building and finding about its permits or liens or even its companies' subsidies.

The Poynter Institute E-Media Tidbits outlines some of the emerging work in the field from such places as The New York Times. It suggests there are not only fascinating journalistic possibilities but financial ones in the marriage of data to visuals for handheld devices like the iPhone and Google Android.

Expect a lot of activity on this in the months ahead.