Let the Location Wars Begin
Location means a lot of things to a lot of different people, but in the real of mobile, it means one big thing… the “future.” Or at least that what its clearly looking like. Location is playing a huge role in how mobile is being utilized. Long gone are the ways of Mobile being considered mere phone calls and text messages (and God forbid you’re still considering “Mobile Marking”, an SMS Campaign). Mobile has literally become these little computers you carry in your pocket. People love them and they change the way they interact with the world in exciting new ways.
Location is a HUGE player right now for a handful of reasons. First, it’s really in its infancy and people are just discovering new and exciting ways to utilize it in meaningful ways that benefit the user. Secondly, there’s really not a mobile device out there that DOESN’T have a GPS in it. Heck, even the tiny little clamshell phones are coming with GPS in them these days (remind me to tell you a story about the guy at the AT&T counter who was explaining how he hard wired a Nokia clamshell to his car dash and used it to locate his car when it got stolen). And lastly, people love to feel important, no matter how trivial it may seem. People want you to know they’re going to some cool underground film, they want you to know they’re eating at that “impossible to get a reservation” restaurant and they LOVE you to know they’re on vacation sipping martinis poolside somewhere summer never ends.
So what’re we talking about here? Well, we’re talking about location. But why? Well some interesting things are happening that’re breaking new ground literally right now. The new iPhone launched, and with it came the new iteration of their iPhone operating system called iOS. One tiny update to iOS is that Apple is now allowing 3rd party apps to run background services. In jumps Loopt, one of the oldest in the location “Game” game, and their new app that allows you to update your location AUTOMATICALLY! By clicking a very simple setting, you automatically keep a whole handful of friends up to date on your every move, every time you move. Privacy be damned! Now, there are some limitations, as in it only notifies for up to 8 hours (which is think is more of a “I don’t care where you are every second” filter) and you can only notify a handful of friends (which also isn’t so bad). But the potential for both scary and amazing is starting to unfold very rapidly. Everyone has gotten into the location game, Facebook, Twitter, Gowalla, Foursquare, etc, etc, but Loopt is really the first to pioneer the realm of the “always on” model. Should be interesting to see if the others follow suit or if a counter argument is proposed for why manual checkins provide great security, etc.
So where does this go? Well its hard to say, but the potential is monumental right now for another revolution in Mobile and the ability to provide legitimate, beneficial services that go beyond “Hey, I’m here” and bring real value to the user by being somewhere… anywhere. Maybe it goes without saying, but hyper-local within a global context is clearly the next big thing, and all these Location competitors are just scratching the surface, so keep your eyes peeled for a game changer in the next 6 months. I guarantee you’ll see something groundbreaking real soon… Will it be one of the major players? Will it be someone new? I hope it looks pretty too.
Never head of some of this stuff? Check em’ out:
Foursquare
Loopt
Gowalla
Buzzd
Whrrl
Facebook adds Location
Twitter adds Location