Poll: Readers skeptical on use of location-based social networks
SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social-media practices and issues.
Last week’s poll question: Are you currently using location-based social networks such as Foursquare, Gowalla or MyTown?
- I haven’t started using them, and I don’t plan to. 43.84%
- I haven’t started using them, but I’m interested. 25.36%
- Yes, I regularly check in to places I go. 15.94%
- I’m using them, but not frequently. 14.86%
I’m somewhat taken aback by the strong response from those who say they have no plan to use location-based social networks such as Foursquare or Gowalla. It causes me to wonder if the response is based on a lack of knowledge about their use in a business context, whether the respondents represent more of a business-to-business orientation, or whether it’s a lack of interest in newer forms of social networking altogether — or none of the above.
My take on these new platforms is that they can have great relevance for retail-oriented bricks-and-mortar businesses, and perhaps that’s stating the obvious. Less apparent are the soon-coming benefits to using geolocation, many of which have yet to be discerned. As participation increases and people adapt the use of these apps to better suit their needs, I expect to see more benefits accrue, within the retail and business-to-business spaces.
As Daniel Ionescu puts it: “Facebook wants to know, ‘What’s on your mind?’ Twitter asks, ‘What’s happening?’ But that’s getting old already. The burning question for the next wave of social networking is, ‘Where are you?’” We don’t yet know the impact of that question on business, but I’m betting it’s significant.
Perhaps a good follow-up question to the one above should be, “What business benefits do you see location-based social networks providing?” Why don’t you go ahead and respond now by leaving a comment.
Paul Chaney is the Internet marketing director for Bizzuka, author of “The Digital Handshake,” and a member of the SmartBrief on Social Media Advisory Board.
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Tags: foursquare, geolocation, location-based, social media
Categories: Ideas in Action
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Posted by uberVU - social comments on April 7th, 2010 at 9:42 am
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Posted by jgraziani on April 7th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
If I owned a retail business I would probably be more interested in encouraging others to use these location-based tools. But, as a private individual, I have no interest in telling others where I am all the time. Ask: why would anyone care where I am? If you're over 18 and not living with mom & dad, the answer could even be scary. As for me, people will just have to keep guessing!
Posted by Why the Checkin Has Gotten a Bad Rap and Its Importance to Lifestreaming | Lifestream Blog on April 7th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
[...] the results of a poll taken by the readers of the SmartBrief on Social Media was released. I have provided those results above and here is what Paul Chaney had to say about [...]
Posted by rtoennis on April 7th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
The problem is privacy. Asking people to allow strangers, and strange corporations, to continuously track them so those corporations can more effectively bombard them with unwanted advertising is not a win for the consumer.
I talk extensively about his topic in my blog post…
Somebody, EVERYBODY, is Watching You. http://over40innovator.blogspot.com/2010/03/someb...
R
Posted by @textandshout on April 7th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Paul: I like your take on what's next — and clearly location is What's Next (see 4SQ's $80-$100MM valuation).
I wonder, though, how many products have a 30% "I use this" tally after one year. That sort of adoption is just stratospheric. I think any product manager would kill to have that just one year after launch.
Posted by jstanchak on April 8th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
I think the solution is going to be services such as Rally Up (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/rally_up_a_location-based_social_network_for_your_real_friends.php) that have tight privacy controls and are meant to only be used with people who know and like — the sort of people you'd actually want to bump into more often.