Lonely In Location Land
Location seems to still be the latest and greatest in the social media world, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. The CEO of Foursquare has been dubbed the ‘New King of Social Media’ by Wired Magazine and yesterday they reported reaching 4 million users, just months after hitting 1 millon.
Despite Facebook Places, SVNGR, Gowalla, and others offering many different options for people to get in on the checking-in, I just haven’t seen it taking off like I thought it would. Maybe it was expecting too much this early, but I only have 7 friends on Foursquare and I have never checked-in and received a deal or ran into someone I knew there. I only just became the mayor of my house and no one else who lives there even uses Foursquare.
When my dad, uncle, and I went to see Halford in concert this week, I checked in to the Pike Brewing Company, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and Showbox at the Market. In all three of those places there were 2 other people checked-in combined. I asked my dad if he checked-in and said he had long abandoned it because he didn’t have enough friends and it felt pointless. Agreed.
A while back I wrote about the awesome job the Ram Restaurant and Brewery was doing with location, but that is really the last time checking in felt relevant. Friends of mine seem to be running into the same problem with location; at first it is fun and you remember to check-in most places, but after a little while and not a whole lot happens, the habit goes by the wayside.
Location only works if most people are doing it. 4 million seems like a lot, but it pales in comparison to the 500 million people on Facebook. I love the idea of location and I still believe it is going to catch on in a major way and its the future of social media and all, but to be honest, its on the back burner right now until more people join. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot businesses are thinking the same way. I have yet to see a location special from a place not called Starbucks or McDonald’s and it will probably be longer until the day I check-in somewhere to find a friend there too.
What has been your experience with location? Similar? Different? Which service do you prefer? Any reason you are waiting to get in? Let us know how your experience in location land has been and also where you think it is headed or could be improved. It is getting bigger, there is no doubt about it, but how long until the vision is fully realized?
“I don’t wanna be lonely anymore.” – Rob Thomas
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7spBU4Yv8fE[/youtube]