Location based socialising
We've long been aware that location-based services offer a market of almost limitless potential amid the growing ubiquity of smartphones with GPS functionality. It was surely a matter of time before the dominant social networking service got in on the act, and it looks like that time has come.
Tech blog TechCrunch effectively received confirmation from Facebook that it will be adding location-based features, following the discovery of some code pointing to a ‘places' tab on its mobile product.
This followed a couple of reports in Ad Age, that Facebook will introduce location features - essentially the ability to enable geo-tagging of your Facebook updates - later this month. Ad Age reckons advertisers will have a keen interest in this feature, with McDonalds already reportedly on-board.
While acknowledging its plans for a location feature, Facebook is insisting that no advertisers are on-board yet, but it's surely just a matter of time. Facebook already has a lot of appeal for advertisers as it allows them to demographically target their ads and thus ensure they'll be seen by the kind of end-user most likely to want to buy what they're offering.
The addition of a location feature to Facebook means advertisers can target their audience not just by demographics but by location. So, while updating your Facebook status from your phone you could be notified of a special offer from a shop on the road you're on, something you may well not have been aware of otherwise.
Meanwhile Facebook's seemingly unstoppable growth is starting to create problems. TechCrunch has also reported that Zynga, the maker of the most popular casual games played on Facebook, is planning to launch its own social gaming network, having grown tired of the conditions Facebook imposes on it.
