The Incredible Potential of Location-Based News
In November we wrote a long piece about some of the kinds of things Twitter’s new Geolocation API makes possible. So far we’ve seen very little development on top of that API, but it’s widely expected that Twitter and Facebook will make location a major part of their offerings just like startups Foursquare and Gowalla have and like Yelp just began to do last week. Just imagine. User checks-in, via mobile phone: “I’m checking in at the coffee shop at SE 78th and Stark.” User’s favorite services, which they signed-up for on their favorite location-based social network, respond… Local newspaper: “There were 3 stories in the Metro section last week about places within 1 block of your current location, 1 story in Business and 2 stories in Sports. The first time we reported about that coffee shop was in 1985, click here to read that story.” Local events calendar: “There are 2 musical events, 1 political event and 3 religious events happening within 3 blocks of your location tonight. Click here to see those listings.” Wikipedia: “There are 3 locations within 3 blocks of you that have Wikipedia entries written about them. Would you like to read about the history of the neighborhood you’re in?” That’s entirely beyond the initial use-case of location-based social networks: telling you who among your friends is or has been near your current location. There’s also location-based advertising to consider, of course. I like the natural foods industry, I’d happily accept messages from organic and natural foods vendors within a few blocks of places I check-in at.
In November we wrote a long piece about some of the kinds of things Twitter’s new Geolocation API makes possible. So far we’ve seen very little development on top of that API, but it’s widely expected that Twitter and Facebook will make location a major part of their offerings just like startups Foursquare and Gowalla have and like Yelp just began to do last week. Just imagine. User checks-in, via mobile phone: “I’m checking in at the coffee shop at SE 78th and Stark.” User’s favorite services, which they signed-up for on their favorite location-based social network, respond… Local newspaper: “There were 3 stories in the Metro section last week about places within 1 block of your current location, 1 story in Business and 2 stories in Sports. The first time we reported about that coffee shop was in 1985, click here to read that story.” Local events calendar: “There are 2 musical events, 1 political event and 3 religious events happening within 3 blocks of your location tonight. Click here to see those listings.” Wikipedia: “There are 3 locations within 3 blocks of you that have Wikipedia entries written about them. Would you like to read about the history of the neighborhood you’re in?” That’s entirely beyond the initial use-case of location-based social networks: telling you who among your friends is or has been near your current location. There’s also location-based advertising to consider, of course. I like the natural foods industry, I’d happily accept messages from organic and natural foods vendors within a few blocks of places I check-in at.
Posted 2 years ago & Filed under geolocation, platforms, foursquare, mobile, Notes
