Where Are You? The Location Based Craze.
Foursquare. Gowalla. Twitter location tweeting. The new upcoming Facebook location app. Yelp. The newest craze in Social Media is this "checking-in" phenomenon. A friend told me just two months ago about Foursquare - a website/phone app that when you go to a place, it uses your GPS to triangulate where you are, and you can check in and lets your friends, Facebook, and Twitter know your location. If you check in enough, you get "badges" and maybe even become the mayor of a certain spot if you go frequently to the same place.
I found myself doing it, merely out of curiosity (and badge collecting becomes addictive). A few weeks ago I checked in at a bar, threw it up with a message onto Facebook and Twitter, and my friends around me immediately started questioning it. Why? Why does anyone need to know where you are? Isn't it creepy? What's the point?
The short answer: Well, I guess they don't. And yes, I suppose it is.
The useful answer: It's a marketing tool. When you check into a place, foursquare will tell you if there's any deals around you. A free drink, or something in the place you're in or another place nearby (I haven't had this happen yet, however). It also gives you tips from people who have been there.
The futuristic answer: Think of how text messaging revolutionized going out. You no longer have to perfectly sync up times and places to meet up with friends beforehand. If you're out, you call someone to find their location, and go meet up. Although sometimes it is virtually impossible to hear over the phone due to loudness of a restaurant or bar. That's where texting came into play - a quick message to your friends and they can reply with info. Anyone found without a phone at any time, knows how incredibly hard it is to find your group of friends on a night out on the town. So now think of these apps. If your friends are all out, and you see them one by one checking into the same place - now you don't even have to waste time texting back and forth.
The real answer: You're probably already tweeting about where you are to twitterland. You may have said "I'm attending this event" on Facebook or Evite.com. You may have even updated your Facebook status, "I'm out at Bar XX with the boys" Your friends probably already know where you are, so this isn't really any different.
The tricky thing about Foursquare is adding friends. "Matt S. wants to be your friend." If you're like me, you have have 17 Matts, 12 Daves, and 8 Mikes all in your address book. How in the world do you know which one Matt S. is? Matt Smith? Matt Stephens? etc. And do you trust Matt S. enough to let him know where you are? It's up to personal preference at this point... it is however you decide to accept friends on any of the social media platforms. I don't like adding people I don't know, or have conversed with only a few times.
It's fun and a great way to see what restaurants, bars, museums, movies, etc. your friends are trying out. If you travel and have friends in other cities, you now already know some places to go.
The downside is that with all of these applications popping up, the few that are trying it will be spread across various networks and its functionality may not completely catch on. I recommend Foursquare as the front runner for its ease and widespread user-base, but I hear Gowalla is making a play. Anyone care to recommend their favorite location based application? Make a case for starting or switching?
I found myself doing it, merely out of curiosity (and badge collecting becomes addictive). A few weeks ago I checked in at a bar, threw it up with a message onto Facebook and Twitter, and my friends around me immediately started questioning it. Why? Why does anyone need to know where you are? Isn't it creepy? What's the point?
The short answer: Well, I guess they don't. And yes, I suppose it is.
The useful answer: It's a marketing tool. When you check into a place, foursquare will tell you if there's any deals around you. A free drink, or something in the place you're in or another place nearby (I haven't had this happen yet, however). It also gives you tips from people who have been there.
The futuristic answer: Think of how text messaging revolutionized going out. You no longer have to perfectly sync up times and places to meet up with friends beforehand. If you're out, you call someone to find their location, and go meet up. Although sometimes it is virtually impossible to hear over the phone due to loudness of a restaurant or bar. That's where texting came into play - a quick message to your friends and they can reply with info. Anyone found without a phone at any time, knows how incredibly hard it is to find your group of friends on a night out on the town. So now think of these apps. If your friends are all out, and you see them one by one checking into the same place - now you don't even have to waste time texting back and forth.
The real answer: You're probably already tweeting about where you are to twitterland. You may have said "I'm attending this event" on Facebook or Evite.com. You may have even updated your Facebook status, "I'm out at Bar XX with the boys" Your friends probably already know where you are, so this isn't really any different.
The tricky thing about Foursquare is adding friends. "Matt S. wants to be your friend." If you're like me, you have have 17 Matts, 12 Daves, and 8 Mikes all in your address book. How in the world do you know which one Matt S. is? Matt Smith? Matt Stephens? etc. And do you trust Matt S. enough to let him know where you are? It's up to personal preference at this point... it is however you decide to accept friends on any of the social media platforms. I don't like adding people I don't know, or have conversed with only a few times.
It's fun and a great way to see what restaurants, bars, museums, movies, etc. your friends are trying out. If you travel and have friends in other cities, you now already know some places to go.
The downside is that with all of these applications popping up, the few that are trying it will be spread across various networks and its functionality may not completely catch on. I recommend Foursquare as the front runner for its ease and widespread user-base, but I hear Gowalla is making a play. Anyone care to recommend their favorite location based application? Make a case for starting or switching?