Facebook officially got into the Geo-Social Networking game today and in my opinion the upped the ante. Facebook Places was launched at about 5:30 pst. FB Places was developed in a collaboration between the Zuckerberg crew and Gowalla, another popular Geo-Social Network.
I’ve been an avid Geo-Social Network user for well over a year now and Foursquare has been my network of choice. I like the gaming aspect of it. Gaining the mayorship at your local pub is a nerdy badge of honor. I originally used BriteKite and moved over to Foursquare when I realized through posted tweets that more of the people I associate with use Foursquare.
Facebook’s announcement seemed very strategic just as, in my opinion, Foursquare was picking up some steam. The other day if you checked into The Gap and showed the cashier you were eligible for a 25% discount. Marketers wanted to ignore Geo-Social Networks but found out that they couldn’t any longer. Think about how engaged a person needs to be to stop what they are doing, open the app and check into your establishment, store etc. etc. (It’s also very competitive among users – I’ve won and lost the mayorship to Four Peak Brewery in Tempe, AZ more times than I care to admit and I’m still chasing it.)
Geo-Social Networks and Personal Branding
As a user, I’ve been a fan of Geo-Social Networks for personal branding reasons. I like to check into various locations that have the “it” appeal and enhance the my personal brand. (With that being said I frequent lots of place and don’t bother checking in like Safeway, Circle K etc.) People who follow me on Twitter know that almost everyday I go to the Tempe YMCA to workout – that’s part of me, I’m health conscious. On Friday’s I typically have a client meeting at Four Peaks around 11:30 – that’ part of my weekly routine and so on… My check ins are posted to my personal Twitter account and occasionally my personal Facebook page – much to mixed reviews. On Facebook some people do not like the overload of information, some people are envious about the places I’m at and some are ambivalent. This is all about to change…remember I signed into Foursquare and I chose to post to Facebook, now every Facebook user will have the option to update their location just as easily as updating their status and it’ll be posted for their network to see.
Facebook Places’ Features
Some of the features of Facebook Places are checking into locations, seeing what other places are nearby, tagging your Facebook friends (just like you tag them in photos) if they are with you and also control privacy settings to publish to only those people who want to share your location with. Another key feature is you can check in and set it to post only after you’ve left the location, which in turn adds an extra element of safety for the new Facebook feature- which I applaud.
Nice work! You drove lots and lots of people to your Facebook page and they like you, now what?
