Foursquare
Despite report after report after report with actual, hard data proving that location-based check-in services were only used by a niche group of early adopters, this is one trend that couldn’t be stopped… from being reported on. And no one service this year generated as many headlines as media darling Foursquare. Representative of the ever-expanding group of check-in apps, Foursquare lets users register their location at a particular venue, earn points, badges and mayorships and sometimes even discounts or rewards. But even as Foursquare grew its numbers over 2010, a second wave of arguably more useful location-based services began to emerge. Services providing things like geo-fencing, travel rewards, new opportunities for location-based ads, and even services that use location to fight identity theft are now arriving on the scene. Still, a portion of the population remains unconvinced of the power of the checkin. Plus, with privacy advocates tapping into users’ fears surrounding location-sharing this year when a site called Please Rob Me launched, the check-in may give way to other location-based services in 2011.
Says CEO and Co-founder of app recommendation site AppStoreHQ, Chris DeVore, services like Foursquare providing ‘check-ins-for-check-ins-sake’ have “stalled before crossing over to the mainstream.” However, “the idea of location-based CRM and just-in-time local offer delivery have real traction among both consumers and local business owners,” he explained. “Groupon-style local offers are the revenue engine that’s powering this business right now, but the long-term economic value of Groupon to SMBs is still in question. The company that can combine high-volume, offer-powered lead generation with a stickier customer value proposition that truly drives repeat business will have a real hit on their hands.”
Forrester analyst Melissa Parrish agrees that location-based services are still just hitting their stride. “Although Forrester data from mid-2010 showed that only four percent of US consumers have ever used a Location-Based Social Network, consumer adoption will continue to grow as the services add utility for users through partnerships as well as product development.”
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