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December 23, 2009

Collecting pretty items in my quest for the coveted gowallanano. Cute Metal Robot is the best so far

I Tweeted the other day that I had an early infatuation with @FourSquare but really it's @Gowalla I've fallen in love with. 

Apart from having a really beautiful web site and iPhone App, Gowalla shows an attention to detail that makes it stand out as a location social network.

It's really easy to create / check in at destinations not already listed (anyplace in the world as well, not just approved cities).  It's easy to contact friends from within the iPhone App via phone call or SMS. It even allows you to toggle on/off individual friend check in's so you can control the noise leval. The items you can collect along the way are kitch and charming, adding some fun, as I said I particularly like the Metal Robot. Oh yeah, integtration with Twitter and Facebook comes as standard too. 

Location based services are sure to be one of the breakout social technologies in 2010. Gowalla is my top tip in this space.

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Filed under  //   gowalla   location   socialnetworks  

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August 20, 2009

Foursquare is supercool! Android app officially coming soon!

"The Android app is super super close (in private beta now). Make sure you're on the list: http://bit.ly/19AObn"
via twitter.com/foursquare

I've really been bitten by the Foursquare bug over the summer. I said I'd give the location based social network a try whilst in the US, and I'm really glad I have.

The service is fun and useful; using it these past couple of weeks has helped me to discover a load of interesting new places in both Austin and LA.

The gaming / competition aspect of Foursquare makes it seriously addictive, so much so that I wonder how no one has thought of using this approach to drive adoption in a social network before? Like all good ideas it seems so obvious in retrospect.

From my point of view the only drawback is that there is no Android app - I've been using the mobile web version - but @foursquare has just confirmed that they are now very close to releasing it into the wild.

Foursquare is definitely one to watch!

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July 25, 2009

Foursquare: Why It May Be the Next Twitter - Mashable

Foursquare’s very much in the same boat as Twitter was two years ago. The early adopters have started to drink the kool-aide, myself included, but for the most part it remains a service completely misunderstood, and even mocked from time to time. But here’s the thing, it is starting to catch on and people are starting to sit up take notice, and actually use it. Foursquare is one of the more practical location-based social networking applications, and it’s value can only truly be gleaned by actually using it.
via mashable.com

A few months ago I was thinking about location based networks and asking which one would be the next, next big thing. I thought Foursquare sounded interesting at the time and now it seems to really be making waves.

This Mashable article explains the buzz, and also why the 'gaming' element of Foursquare may make it the first location based social network to go mainstream.

As I'll be in Austin in a few weeks time (one of the cities supported by Foursquare) I look forward to giving it a proper try out.

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Filed under  //   foursqure   location   socialnetworks  

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March 21, 2009

Location based social networks, which one will be the next, next big thing...

SXSW interactive has a knack for identifying ‘next big things’ in the technology world.  The Spring Break geek hangout is the ultimate crowdsourcing excercise; key trends and technologies tend to rise to the top in this tech hothouse.

Location based social networks have been rumbling around in the background for 18 months or so.  The rise of GPS enabled mass market consumer phones has driven these services towards a tipping point, and reports from Austin last week indicate that location based social networking will soon be ready for prime time.

There are already several contenders in this space, but which one will be the next, next big thing?

Brightkite is already quite a mature service, allowing users to check in, post notes and location tagged photos to followers.  It has a good iPhone App, and integrates nicely with other social networks including Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Foursquare seems to have been the talk of SXSWi, describing itself as ” 50% friend-finder, 30% social cityguide, 20% nightlife game.”  It also has an iPhone App and supports check in by SMS.  Currently though only 12 city locations are supported - all of which are in the US.

Loopt is quite similar to Brightkite, in that it alerts users when friends are nearby and allows location tagged photos and comments to be shared.  Loopt provides a client application for both iPhone and Android users.

Only recently launched, Google Lattitude is the ‘elephant in the room’.  Surprisingly Lattitude currently doesn’t support the iPhone (although future support is promised) and at the moment only allows a users location and status to be shared.  The possibility of further integration with other Google services is very enticing though.

Will one of these be the next big thing in social networking, or are there other more promising contenders?

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Filed under  //   location   nextbigthing   socialnetworks  

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