The Great Geo-Location Debate

Columbus AMASocial Media SIG September Meeting

Thank You Sponsor Fahlgren

 

Announcements....

November Social Media SIG Meeting: 

Wednesday, November 3, 2010Dublin Entrepreneurial Center7:30am--9:00am 

Geo-location: What is it?

• Identification of the real-world geographic location of an object (cell phone or internet connected computer)

• Determines meaningful location (street address rather than geographic coordinates)

Geo-location can be determined by:

• GPS coordinates

• IP Address

• RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

• Wi-Fi Connection Location

A Few of the Key Geo-location Players

Big Kid in the Sandbox: FoursquareLocation based mobile media service based on your Twitter network with bonus of social gaming (launched 3/2009)

Key Features• "Check In" at specific geographic locations earning points

• Twitter and Facebook interface 

• Review user-generated tips for locations nearby

• Earn badges

• Earn rewards as most frequent visitor or "Mayor"

In Distant Second Place: Gowalla

Location based mobile media service with precise check-in locations with the added bonus of virtually "pickup and drop off" of items (Launched 3/2009)

Key Features

• Precise "Check in" locations

•  Piins for accomplishing stuff

• Top 10 lists of users for each venue

 

 

Geo-location for Foodies: Yelp

Allows users to write and share reviews of local businesses and restaurants with the ability to share reviews via Facebook and Twitter (Launched in 2004)

Key Features

• Offer and review user generated reviews

• Website interface to search by geographic location or type of venue or service

•  Facebook and Twitter interface

An Old Favorite: BrightKite

One of the first geo-location apps available 

Key Features

• See nearby users

• "Check-in" 

• "Check-in" and post a photo

• "Check-in" and post a note

• Initiate communication with other users

New Front Runner: Facebook PlacesThe long awaited location based service from the world's largest social network (Launched August 2010)

Key Features• Can "Check In"  and add places that already exist

• Tag people you are with

• Check-in for a group

• Non-mobile browser interface

• Gowalla, Foursquare and Yelp integration

• Booya to launch social game, InCrowd

New Kid on the Block: Hunch

A collective intelligence app that delivers personalized recommendations based on individual responses to a set of taste-determining questions

Key Features:

• Offers suggestions on restaurants, grocery stores, spas and more in a specific area

• Best utilized in urban areas

• Partnerships in the works with other social media networks

Stats to Think About

• March 2010 Foursquare reported 725,000 registered users

• August 2, 2010: Foursquare reported 2.6 million registered users

• August 29, 2010: Foursquare surpasses 3 million registered users

• The August 2010 launch of Facebook Places resulted in Foursquare's biggest day of users registering -- likely comparison shopping 

Interesting Social Gaming Stats

• As of August 2010: 56 million Americans play social games

• 1 out of 5 Americans 6 years and older has played an online game at least 1 time

• 53% of social gamers are women -- breaks 10 year trend of woman as minority game players

• 35% of social gamers have never played a traditional video game

On to the Main Event