Location-based social networking sites (SNSs)

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Introduction

See also Gowalla, Social media landscape, Social networking and Web 2.0

"...developments in geo-technologies have precipitated the emergence of a new field of interactive media...entitled locative media [which] emphasizes the geographical context of media. [The question is how to] combine practices of locative media (experiential mapping and geo-spatial annotation) with aspects of online participatory culture (uploading, file-sharing and search categorization) to produce online applications that support geographically 'located' communities..." Hamilton, 2009

Location-based social networking sites (SNSs) (aka. locative media) are part of a hot new trend in social media that allow you to reveal where you are (i.e. your exact location within your city) and all of the places you have visited by using your mobile or handheld phone. This trend is related to other geo-location trends such as geo-tagging and Twitter (so-called "locative media"). The most popular location-based SNSs are Foursquare, Gowalla and Booyah "MyTown". At Foursquare, points are awarded for "checking in" at venues and users can choose to have their Twitter feed and Facebook accounts updated once they check in to a new location. Foursquare recently enabled a push-notification of its updates -- which are called "Pings." Foursquare users earn badges by checking in at locations with certain tags in order to achieve high levels of check-in frequency. When a user checks-in to a venue more than anyone else on separate days and has a profile photo, they are crowned "Mayor" of that venue until someone else earns the title by checking in more times than anyone else. Gowalla and Booyah "MyTown" employ similar incentives for visiting a number of locations.

Popular location-based SNSs

• Foursquare http://foursquare.com/

• Gowalla http://gowalla.com/

• Booyah "MyTown" http://www.booyah.com/

• Google Latitude http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/latitude/intro.html

Background

"Real time" and "location-based" services proved to be extremely popular trends on the web. Real-time (as in right "now") services allow users to share ideas, links and humour on-the-go. This information sharing is facilitated by using mobile devices and telephones which mimic live broadcasts of other media.

Recent advances in mobile and cloud computing technologies make it possible for organizations to produce digital content in real-time. Mobile platforms, such as the Apple iPhone (and iPad) as well as Google Android, offer on-the-go convenience (rather than location-bound access). Typically, these technologies are connected to high-speed networks, cameras, maps, GPS systems and digital compasses so that users find their way via the cloud. This intriguing intersection of social and academic tools enables new forms of interaction with users previously seen only in science fiction. (See WolfWalk at NCSU)

Library-related applications

• promotion and marketing

• digital outreach

• gaming

• information literacy