The next big social networking thing?

I'm constantly asked what the next big thing will be for tech, web & social media.  It's hard to say who the next Facebook or Twitter will be, but I can say the next emerging social craze is location based technologies.

So what does that mean?

As more and more phones become internet and gps enabled, people have the ability to report exactly where they are.  Who would want to do that?  More people than you might think.  If done right these new phone features, couple with our desire to broadcast where we're at, can have some very neat business applications.

In general location based websites/apps let you add places you frequent often, then you can "check-in" at these locations each time you visit.  Some sites will give you points as you check-in at more locations, while other sites let you keep a detailed log of where you've been.

One site even makes a game out of checking in to places.  If you check-in at a certain place the most, you can become the "mayor" of that location.  Being a "mayor" gives you some more points (who cares, right?), but some business are getting smart by offering specials to their virtual mayor.  For instance, a bar or restaurant may give their mayor free drinks.

Why would they do that?

Think about it...if you offer your virtual mayor free drinks, people will start visiting your location more to hopefully become the mayor.

Businesses (of any kind), I strongly recommend you get on the front end of this movement and find ways to take advantage.  It cost nothing to be listed on these sites, and you'll definitely make it worth your time by giving people a cool reason to check-in at your location.  More people coming to your business is never a bad thing.  Bars & Restaurants can especially take advantage of this coming craze.

So which websites do I think you need to be paying attention too?

Foursquare - www.foursquare.com
This website has been active for over a year in some large cities like San Francisco & New York, but recently has now been rolled out all other cities.  As you check-in to various locations you can accrue points, earn badges and become the mayor of a location.  Foursquare has more "game" features to it, rather than just being a list of where you have been.

Loopt - www.loopt.com
If you want to keep a nice journal of where you have been, Loopt will be a good option.  Loopt doesn't have the "game" features of Foursquare, however the journaling feature is more robust.

Both of these sites have apps for the iPhone, Android, Blackberry and most any phone.  Additionally they both allow you to automatically post updates to Twitter and Facebook if you really want to spread the word about where you're at.

If you have privacy concerns about letting people know where you are, here are a few pointers:

1. Check-in to a location as you are leaving (not when you arrive).  You'll let people know where you have been and which businesses you like, but you won't enable someone to find you.
   
   
2. Don't check-in to where you live.  Actually, you should never do this, no matter what privacy concerns you have or don't have.
   
   
3. If you have major privacy concerns, then there's the obvious solution...don't use location based apps.

There is one big flaw in these types of sites...you can check-in to a location without actually being there using a computer.  Obviously this can create issues with businesses trying to appear popular by faking check-ins, or people checking in to places they didn't actually go.  Hopefully the internet community can expose and prevent abuse like this, because I really believe location based apps can be huge and beneficial.

Have fun!