While 2009 was largely lauded to be the "Year of the Location", such services never really took off commercially and are still very much "in the works" ...That said, I have no doubts in my mind that these services are just around the corner, and will most certainly be very widely used in our near future.
So let us look at the various applications providing such services and the potential concerns that people may have about using them.
First of all let us look at what LBS is:
According to Wikipedia, LBS is "an information and entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device"
In Layman's terms, LBS apps are a way to for a user to learn about their surroundings while perhaps even getting discounts in the process. You can gain to access to shops, theaters, restaurants or even general recommendations about what to see and what not regarding the current location of a person.
As the technology itself is being used by more firms and indeed, the customer-base is increasing rapidly, the technology itself is improving too and the following companies are further enhancing LBS by offering varied services.
Let's take a look at some of these firms:
FourSquare - Perhaps the most popular and most well-known of the lot, Foursquare is a location based social network that incorporates gaming elements. You can share your location with friends by “checking in” via a smartphone app or by text message. By checking in a certain number of times, or in different locations, you can collect virtual badges. Points are awarded for checking in at various venues. Foursquare helps you meet up with your friends and lets you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people.
Whrrl - Whrrl’s main feature is Societies, real-world groups that revolve around specific passions or interests. There are Societies for gourmands, bicycle enthusiasts, parents — just about anything you can imagine. Users make recommendations to one another, and they earn points when other members take their suggestions. The more points a users earns, the more influential he or she is, and the more likely he or she is to win rewards.
Whrrl also uses checkins, but as noted, these aren’t the main part of the application.
Brightkite - Brightkite lets users check in and post comments from just about any location. It also gives its users access to a wide range of features including photo-posting, messaging, comments, tips, tiered rewards, and group chat capabilities. It’s a perfect choice for users who want a more interactive, social experience than Foursquare. This app’s broader set of features also makes for an interesting gamut of possibilities for creative-minded marketers.
Gowalla - Gowalla is a check-in app that lets users leave tips and complete multi-stop trips to earn virtual items. The app has a travel/adventure theme and features passport stamps as its main currency. Some of the app’s virtual goods can be redeemed for real-world items. This app started gaining traction around SXSW 2010 and is considered to be one of the top contenders up against Foursquare.
Loopt - Loopt actually encompasses a suite of applications, including Loopt, Loopt Mix, Loopt Pulse for the iPad, and Loopt Star, a Facebook game with special rewards and achievement perks. It uses a check-in mechanism that shares a user’s location, and helps friends connect and discover new locations. It also integrates with many other web apps and information services, including Zagat, Citysearch, Bing, TastingTable, Zvents, Metromix and SonicLiving, to give its users a really broad array of functions and features.
SCVNGR - SCVNGR is a location-based social game. Users earn badges and points for check-ins. Each location in SCVNGR contains a list of “challenges” and associated points: check in, snap a photo and leave a comment are among some of the most common challenges. Additionally, owners of a location or “regulars” at that location can also create their own challenges and pursuant points.In addition to points, users earn rewards for check-ins, challenge completions, and other actions.
Facebook Places - Facebook Places is a service of check-ins which allow the entrepreneurs and their work sites to know Places set their Facebook pages each. Then later the businessmen who ran the place could check people who visit their place, who had done check in. By using this Facebook Places users can find the coupons and shopping badges or share info with friends where they like in Foursquare.
Koprol - Koprol, based in Jakarta, Indonesia focuses on the intersection of location, community expertise and mobile experiences. With it, people share photos and reviews of locations using their mobile phones. And yes, it allows you to check-in to a location.
MyTown - MyTown is a geolocation game centered on "buying and owning" your favorite real-world local shops, restaurants and hangouts. MyTown users check-in at locations to unlock rewards, then "buy and own" real-life places. During the day, MyTown users "collect rent" when people check-in to their shops - the more people who visit your stores, the more it raises your property's value. Users can also cash in their game currency they've earned at MyTown's virtual store, where it's good for buying more buildings, content packs and more
As can be seen by the number of firms involved in LBS, there is certainly a large and varied market and the interest among the users too is increasing rapidly. Sadly, with all new technologies there is a lot of skepticism among mass users and it takes a lot of heavy marketing and advertising campaigns to "educate" the users of the product/service benefits and how it overcomes their concerns. So now let us take a look at some of the concerns users feel they have with LBS. Article taken from CIO:
1. I'll get stalked.
As with any technology, there are security risks. However, location-based services pose a unique risk, as you're publishing your exact current location. That's why understanding and utilizing the privacy controls that the specific technology offers is of utmost importance.
A common misconception is that by using geolocation services such as Foursquare, your every movement will be tracked, recorded and publicized.
That's not necessarily true. Foursquare, for example, only shares your location when you proactively decide to check in to tell the service you're at a particular place. Even when you check in, you have the choice each time to share your particular location or to check in "off the grid."
Bottom line: As with any online technology, it's up to you to understand and use the privacy policies to stay safe. Each location-based service is different, so it's important to know how each service works before you commit.
2. There's no reason for me to use a location-based service.
Broadcasting your location to your friends may seem inane, but then again so did broadcasting 140-character messages when Twitter first launched.
Location-based services offer more than just a way to say where you are. Discounts and free sample offers are popular. Clothing retailer Gap, for example, offered Foursquare users 25 percent off if they checked into the store's location. Ann Taylor offered a similar deal, too: 25 percent off for Foursquare mayors (users with the most check-ins to that venue in the last 60 days) and 15 percent off to each customer after their fifth check-in.
Gowalla, too, focuses on rewards. In their travels, Gowalla users may encounter "digital souvenirs," which are redeemable for real-world rewards such as apparel, movie tickets or gadgets.
And then there's the social aspect, on which Facebook seems to be focusing. "Ever gone to a show, only to find out afterward that your friends were there too?" wrote Facebook in its blog post announcing Facebook Places. Places, Facebook says, is designed to share your favorite spots with your friends and connect with them in the real world
3. I don't have a smartphone, so I can't participate.
Few people realize that Foursquare offers two alternative ways to check in to a location: via your computer and SMS.
To check in from your computer, visit m.foursquare.com, scroll down the page and under your friends' feed, click on option two—"Check-in (tell us where you are!)" This will open to a new page where you can check in
Facebook Places, however, is available right now only to those who have the Facebook for iPhone application or by visiting touch.facebook.com. This version of Places will only work if your device supports HTML 5 and geolocation.
4. Too many details of my everyday life will be shared with third parties.
Whenever you open the Foursquare app on your mobile phone, Foursquare uses the information from your phone to tailor the experience to your location—for example, it'll show you a list of nearby venues, friends and tips. This information is not published to your profile.
Foursquare does collect some personal information automatically. This includes your IP address, cookie information and the page you requested. Foursquare says that it only uses this information in aggregate form—not in a manner that would identify you personally. This information is shared with its partners, but not in a way that would identify you, the company says. Gowalla and Facebook Places operate in a similar manner.
5. I'll annoy Facebook Friends and Twitter followers with inane updates.
You've probably seen updates from your Facebook friends and Twitter followers announcing every half hour where they currently are. This is a Foursquare feature you have to intentionally turn on, otherwise your updates don't appear on Facebook or Twitter.
If you enable this feature, note that your location updates will no longer be private—they will appear in public Twitter time lines and will be visible to all your followers.
Similarly, if you choose to link your Foursquare account to Facebook, your updates will be published to your friends' news feeds and will be publicly available if your privacy settings allow people to view your wall. The same is true with linking your Gowalla account to Twitter and Facebook.
So did any of this information pique your interest in the LBS apps or are you perhaps still skeptical in this technology? Or maybe you just don't care? Anyhow, do let us know your opinions and/or if you feel I missed out on something which maybe useful regarding LBS.
Cheers!
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