Alternative Marketing Connections

Location-aware social networks are the next wave of social media.  These networks rely on the GPS in your iPhone, Droid, Blackberry or Palm WebOS device to identify your location, and then allow you to report your status and experiences at that location.

At first, frankly, this feels a little creepy.  I was initially quite skeptical of these networks, particularly because of privacy issues.  However, if you take some time to discover and adjust the privacy settings, these networks have become just as safe as any other social network.  (It's really more about being an informed user.)

After spending the last 6 months becoming intimately involved with these services, I have to say I can't imagine my social media experience without them.  For me, the question is no longer just "What am I doing," but also "Where am I doing it."

Here are a few of my personal favorites to get you started.  You will see some other players absent from this list, such as Gowalla and the new, updated Twitter, so if you are a fan of these, I apologize in advance. :)

5. Facebook Places
4. Brightkite
3. Loopt
2. Foursquare
1. Whrrl

Facebook Places is the newest entry on my list.  You will find the Places button on your Facebook mobile app next to the status entry box.  While Places isn't ready for prime time yet, based on the huge potential user base, I'm sure it will gain popularity as Facebook rolls out more advanced features.

Brightkite is sort of a cross between Twitter and Facebook.  It also uses innovative features, such as bar codes, to set its well-though-out web interface apart.  My main concern is that their iPhone app is out of date and needs to refresh to stay competitive.

Loopt has been around for quite some time, but received some bad press in earlier incantations due to lack of privacy controls.  However, their mobile interface and features have improved a great deal over the last few months, and I've really started to take a liking to it. Their latest version adds the ability to display your Facebook users who check in using Facebook Places as part of your Loopt stream.  At this point, in my experience, it's difficult to find other Loopt users to communicate with. I'm hopeful that more people will discover its new features and slick interface.

Foursquare (FSQ) has the most users of the check-in apps, but to me it just seems to be lacking in features, both on the iPhone app and the website. Also, the fact that FSQ has temporarily suspended the ability to create new merchant offers is really frustrating for social media marketers such as me.  I will hold judgment until FSQ brings their marketing tools back online; I suspect the update will also include other features to bring it to more feature-equivalency with Loopt and Whrrl.

Whrrl is my current favorite because it focuses on the concept of creating stories to share your experiences through pictures. Think of it as a mobile photo-blogging tool.  It's easy to cross-post your stories to Facebook as albums, and with the latest version, they have begun integrating with Facebook Places. Whrrl is still a little quirky IMO -- particularly their web interface, but I think it holds great promise.  The iPhone and (brand new) Droid apps are best of class.

If you want to see examples of Whrrl in action, you might check out my Whrrl "Footstream" at THIS LINK.

(As a side note, Whrrl is a Seattle-based company, so if you live in the Puget Sound region, I encourage you to help this local upstart gain a greater foothold.  They have some great ideas and are forward thinkers.)

How are these services related to business and marketing? I'll leave that to a follow-up article.  For now, I encourage you to pick one or more of these services and give them a try.  Just be sure you understand how the privacy settings work.  Some of the marketing benefits will become apparent as you explore.