Tweet
Geolocation: The next social frontier?
Now that we're well beyond the advent of "Web 2.0," where two-way and open conversation and social networks are becoming the basis of a "new world order," folks are looking ahead to the next big thing. For many, that next frontier is geolocation. Beyond "who do you know?" and "what are you doing?" we're coming to "where are you doing it?"
We've talked about BrightKite before, which remains one of my favorite social geolocation services. Check in and share notes and photos on the places you go, and see where your friends are or have been. Other players include the wireless-provider backed Loopt (which is largely limited to people you already contact via phone) and even Google's dabbling with Google Latitude (whereas Yahoo! is pushing Fire Eagle).
But that's just checking in, pinging a spot to say, "I am here!" And already it's not interesting enough for some folks.
The hot service of the moment is FourSquare. You still check in and share when you go someplace, but there are also points, so you can earn badges for specific combinations of activity. And if you visit a place often enough, you become a "mayor." And already some businesses are working with FourSquare to offer deals to users, encouraging people to patronize the place (i.e. 10 percent off if you check in here, 20 percent off if you're the mayor).
I'm eager to use it. But FourSquare is only supported in certain cities. Presumably cool cities with an active nightlife. I've been suggesting Honolulu, so far to no avail. So I'm just pretending to be in San Diego while we wait for 'em to grow.
Fortunately, there are other services with similar models. A more open attempt is GraffitiGeo (recently acquired by Loopt). You can set up spots, check in to them, and add comments or reviews. Check in somewhere often enough, and you're declared a "CEO" (instead of "mayor"). You can also earn badges, form "mobs" and dominate "territories." It's got a much smaller user base, though, and a less polished interface. Your "friends" are connected only through Facebook. But I've had fun with it. My profile is here.
And there's also Gowalla, which is my current favorite. They suck you in with a brilliant user interface with gorgeous icons, but there's a lot going on under the hood. As with the other services, you can create spots, check in, and add comments. You can easily see a stream of your friends' activities. Spots have "top users," rather than a "CEO" or "mayor." And instead of "badges," you earn "stamps" on a virtual passport.
And a neat feature is the addition of "items," or virtual prizes or tokens. When I check into a spot, I can drop an item (say, some candy or a toy train), and a future visitor can pick it up, or swap it for something they have. This reminds me of the "travel bugs" that geocachers move around the globe. It's only a half-baked feature now, but it'd be interesting to eventually see how a specific virtual item moves about a city, and who interacts with it.
Here's my profile on Gowalla. Won't you be my friend?
Obviously, getting into geolocation and adding a "where" dimension to social networks can be just as scary as it is fun. There's obviously a lot of commentary out there about giving up privacy, or even safety, as people project their whereabouts on the web. But I like that services like these are doing one thing most people criticize avid social network users for avoiding: getting out of the house and meeting actual people.
Though you wouldn't believe it, I have a loner streak in me that, left to my own devices, would have me end up in a mountain cabin, stroking a long beard and caring for twenty cats while I typed angry manifestos on a manual typewriter. Since the advent of "online communities," going back to dial-up BBSes, I've actually considered the social aspect to be among the most valuable parts of technology. Now, even I'm sometimes forcing myself, I'm meeting with, interacting with, and learning from people from all walks of life. People that I probably wouldn't have even known existed without the web.
So "where are you" is a good thing, on balance. Because I'm more motivated than most now to try and have an interesting answer to the question!
Thoughts?
We've talked about BrightKite before, which remains one of my favorite social geolocation services. Check in and share notes and photos on the places you go, and see where your friends are or have been. Other players include the wireless-provider backed Loopt (which is largely limited to people you already contact via phone) and even Google's dabbling with Google Latitude (whereas Yahoo! is pushing Fire Eagle).
But that's just checking in, pinging a spot to say, "I am here!" And already it's not interesting enough for some folks.
The hot service of the moment is FourSquare. You still check in and share when you go someplace, but there are also points, so you can earn badges for specific combinations of activity. And if you visit a place often enough, you become a "mayor." And already some businesses are working with FourSquare to offer deals to users, encouraging people to patronize the place (i.e. 10 percent off if you check in here, 20 percent off if you're the mayor).
I'm eager to use it. But FourSquare is only supported in certain cities. Presumably cool cities with an active nightlife. I've been suggesting Honolulu, so far to no avail. So I'm just pretending to be in San Diego while we wait for 'em to grow.
Fortunately, there are other services with similar models. A more open attempt is GraffitiGeo (recently acquired by Loopt). You can set up spots, check in to them, and add comments or reviews. Check in somewhere often enough, and you're declared a "CEO" (instead of "mayor"). You can also earn badges, form "mobs" and dominate "territories." It's got a much smaller user base, though, and a less polished interface. Your "friends" are connected only through Facebook. But I've had fun with it. My profile is here.
And there's also Gowalla, which is my current favorite. They suck you in with a brilliant user interface with gorgeous icons, but there's a lot going on under the hood. As with the other services, you can create spots, check in, and add comments. You can easily see a stream of your friends' activities. Spots have "top users," rather than a "CEO" or "mayor." And instead of "badges," you earn "stamps" on a virtual passport.
And a neat feature is the addition of "items," or virtual prizes or tokens. When I check into a spot, I can drop an item (say, some candy or a toy train), and a future visitor can pick it up, or swap it for something they have. This reminds me of the "travel bugs" that geocachers move around the globe. It's only a half-baked feature now, but it'd be interesting to eventually see how a specific virtual item moves about a city, and who interacts with it.
Here's my profile on Gowalla. Won't you be my friend?
Obviously, getting into geolocation and adding a "where" dimension to social networks can be just as scary as it is fun. There's obviously a lot of commentary out there about giving up privacy, or even safety, as people project their whereabouts on the web. But I like that services like these are doing one thing most people criticize avid social network users for avoiding: getting out of the house and meeting actual people.
Though you wouldn't believe it, I have a loner streak in me that, left to my own devices, would have me end up in a mountain cabin, stroking a long beard and caring for twenty cats while I typed angry manifestos on a manual typewriter. Since the advent of "online communities," going back to dial-up BBSes, I've actually considered the social aspect to be among the most valuable parts of technology. Now, even I'm sometimes forcing myself, I'm meeting with, interacting with, and learning from people from all walks of life. People that I probably wouldn't have even known existed without the web.
So "where are you" is a good thing, on balance. Because I'm more motivated than most now to try and have an interesting answer to the question!
Thoughts?
Comment