You would probably have to be living under a rock for the last week not to have heard about Facebook Places (or you’re one of the million and millions of Americans who couldn’t care less about location based services and don’t even know what Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl and Facebook Places are). As an avid user of both Foursquare and Gowalla, I was pretty excited to see what Facebook Places was like and if it would change the way I “check-in” to the places that I go.
As an equally avid user of Facebook, the idea of having my check-in community be the same as my Facebook community is very powerful. I have spent the last several years cultivating a Facebook community that I enjoy sharing information with, posting jokes, pictures, stories and generally sharing my life with on a daily basis. In other words, these people have become something between a real friend and just another person on the street. Many of them are real friends, but all of them are now more than strangers. And the answer to the question, “Has my check-in behavior changed?” is a resounding yes.
It has changed, but not entirely in good ways.
Foursquare and Gowalla Drop-Off
I have seen a noticeable drop in my Foursquare and Gowalla activity. I find myself wondering if I need to check into these services when I have just checked into Places for just about everyone I know online to see. What’s more, I’ve noticed a drop in check-ins by other people too. What this experience has taught me about myself is that the main reason I check-in now is to let my peeps know where I am and what I am up to. The days when being the mayor, getting badges, or finding items was an enticement have passed me by. Is there a term for that? Game-mechanics fatigue? Either way, I don’t care about that stuff as much. Granted, there are little instances of exclusion to that statement. I still want to be the mayor of my workplace, and I still want that I’m On A Boat badge, but that really is about it. Maybe I’m just old, or maybe I have too many more important things to worry about to spend much time caring about that fact that I lost the mayorship of the dry cleaners to Cali Pete.
Check-In Reluctance
On the other hand, I find that I am more reluctant to check-in to certain places using Facebook Places. Before you go too far into the gutter with that, let me explain. I used to check-in to work every day in order to keep @chonuff from becoming mayor (always good to out-social-media the social media company CEO). With Facebook Places, I don’t feel as good about those check-ins. Every check-in shows up on my wall and in the news feeds of my friends, along side all of the other content. In comparison, these check-in reports are measly and weak, and there are too many of them. They pollute the content integrity of the stream we are all creating. In Foursquare, the only point was to create a stream of these check-ins, so each one seems just as valid as any other. In Facebook, my check-in to the 3rd coffee shop of the day seems (seems? IS!) inconsequential next to the link about Noor and Ramsey being kidnapped. I don’t like inserting these piddly check-ins next to content that carries more weight.
The Usual Facebook Privacy Oversight
It wouldn’t be Facebook if they didn’t totally screw up some important aspect of the privacy implications of their software. The fact that I can check-in people to places before they’ve granted permission for other people to do so is ridiculous. Sure, Facebook at least launched with the ability for people to control this (they’ve missed that step in the past) but the fact that the default setting for 500 million people is “Sure, go ahead and check me in until I tell you to stop” is just a blatant ploy on their part to drive adoption. They know that the majority of users won’t pay attention to the reports of them checking into places they haven’t been to or checked into themselves, and they’ll be too lazy to go change the settings. In fact, most will probably be OK with it eventually, and Facebook just saved them a few minutes of time. Still, the arrogance which Facebook approaches the world regarding privacy, secure in the knowledge that “this too shall pass,” is irritating. Just once, I’d like to see them make the right choice, setting business aside. As a public service, here is a great post by Beth Kanter on how to control your Facebook privacy.
Facebook Places Crushes
Irritating privacy stance aside, Facebook Places has the potential to crush the other location-based services. Not only do they have the installed base to use their service, they have several other advantages:
First, they already have a better ability to make the check-in more interactive. I can tag other people (although I don’t until I see those people checking in themselves, or I ask them if I can) there with me. Also, a conversation can form around the check-in through the usual comment mechanisms. Adding photos, etc. is probably just a flip of the switch for Facebook.
Second, with the size of their development staff, Facebook can build in the best of the game mechanics, pulling what works from all of the existing services.
Finally, with such a large user base, Facebook is a mecca for business to flock to to make deals. Foursquare has worked hard to strike actual deals with venues, but Facebook has the clout to do it better.
Aaron Strout, of Powered and Citizen Marketer 2.1, blogged that he thinks, “Facebook doesn’t want to crush the players in the location-based field, it wants to provide the scale and infrastructure that they’ve been sorely lacking.” in essence, facebook wants to be the platform on which other location-based services build. I disagree with this, because if that was Facebook’s aim, they would have simply built an API, as opposed to launching an actual feature of their own. I think Facebook wants to take it all for themselves.
Opportunities for Business
I believe businesses can capitalize on this opportunity.
- They should deal with Facebook, offer incentives to people who check-in to their locations.
- Utilize the data Facebook will share about people to target your Facebook ads.
- Remind people to check-in when they are at your location.
What do you think? Does Facebook Places spell the end for the other location-based services? Can your business utilize Facebook Places?
Does this situation sound familiar to you? You’re walking along and your phone beeps at you to let you know a friend has just checked-in at the 
id it in partnership with the major location-based services. Essentially, I can find a place and check-in, without ever leaving Facebook. I can push those check-ins out to some services, like 
