Geo Location: Foursquare vs Facebook
Written by Katerina Zherebtsova
Following months of speculation Facebook has launched its ‘Places’ geo-location functionality. Currently the service is limited to US and to the iPhones, but expansion plans across the globe and other mobile platforms are obviously in the pipeline. Given the Facebook size and digital footprint, which equals to a size of the country, the success of ‘Places’ is of course unavoidable.
Yet Facebook has a lot to account for in the privacy debate and its ongoing criticism is second only to Google. Meanwhile Foursquare has been steadily gaining momentum and growing its active user base. Whilst its stats are changing, over just 1 year of existence it has amassed half a million users (source: http://mashable.com/2010/03/12/foursquare-stats/)
Foursquare vs Facebook is a game of two halves: the numbers game vs the interactivity and appeal of the gaming element. Only time will show which one will come on top. But yet again, it is increasingly not about fighting with the behemoths, but acquiring a niche market group of its own and Foursquare has been leading the way here.
