There has been a lot of news about Facebooks new location-based service called Facebook Places and how it is going to challenge Foursquare. I have been following all of PC World’s recent articles on the new app and what it means for Foursquare.  Facebook Places is designed just like Foursquare except it cuts out the need for users to go to the third party application. Facebook users can use Facebook Places through an updated version of their iPhone Facebook app or if you’re not an iPhone user you can pull up touch.facebook.com on a mobile browser. Due to all the recent privacy issues with Facebook users, the default check-in setting are set so that only friends can see where you are. However, you can change the setting if you would like.

The fact that Facebook Places is pretty much like Foursquare except you don’t need to leave Facebook to use it is going to be a big selling point to a lot of users. With 500 million users of Facebook already it is likely that people will use the application because they don’t need to go to another program to check-in. A lot of people who haven’t tried Foursquare yet, might try Facebook Places because it’s already right there in front of them.  Also, Facebook Places is good for businesses, it gives them a chance to take advantage of this new app by using it as another way to promote the business, expand customer base, and market the brand.  A business can do this with Facebook Places by providing special offers to customers who check-in often, encourage customers to share their experiences through the app, and reward customers who check-in the most with prizes to drive return visits.

Foursquare’s still not ready to go anywhere yet though, with over 2 million followers in such a short time and partnerships with big name businesses like Starbucks, it is doing quite well. Many people who enjoy location-based services are already using Foursquare and might not make the switch because that would mean losing all their “check-ins” that ultimately lead to them getting special offers and discounts- a big part of why followers enjoy using the service.

With good arguments on both sides, only time will tell how things will turn out for Facebook Places and Foursquare but I’m sure there will continue to be a lot of discussion about it in the mean time.

Posted by: Megan/ @meganjlemoi

If you don’t already know about Foursquare then you should probably start to learn because its recent $20 million dollars raised from venture capitalists means it’s only going to get bigger.  Foursquare is a social networking service that allows people to inform others of their location through their mobile phone. It’s a way for people to share their favorite places to their friends and also get rewards for being a loyal customer.

A recent New York Times article mentioned how since Foursquare launched last March it has gained more than 1.8 million users and adds about 10,000 a day now.  People are catching on and it is definitely becoming more popular. The same article released that the new $20 million raised will go to expanding the Foursquare team including new engineers. New engineers mean new options for Foursquare so you can bet that new functions will be coming out for Foursquare in the next year.

Foursquare is great for businesses because it is free promotion. Instead of word of mouth, it is now changing to word of Foursquare. Once you visit a location and “check in” on Foursquare you not only let you friends (via Twitter and Facebook) know where you are but you can also write a comment about what is your favorite food/item from that place. I must be honest and admit I have definitely asked the question- why would I want to let people know where I am? In a Foursquare user’s defense, I will say that after “checking in” to a location a number of times businesses who are partnered with Foursquare will give you discounts or free items for being a loyal customer. Pretty cool if you are into the game and don’t mind announcing to the internet world your exact location. Another plus side for Foursquare users is if you are traveling and looking for a place to eat or shop and don’t know the area, you can use Foursquare and peoples comments and reviews to find a place you think you will like.

What do you think, will you join the Foursquare world? For avid social media users who are on twitter all day long anyways, why not? It could mean free rewards from your favorite places.

Posted by Megan/ @meganjlemoi

Four NYU students are attempting to create a social network alternative to Facebook that would preserve a users’ privacy. The project is called Diaspora and once created they intend to distribute the software for free and make the code available for other programmers to build on. Diaspora is defined as the privacy aware, personally controlled, do-it-all, distributed open-source social network.

To fund the project the four students launched a page on Kickstarter, a site where people can receive donations for their projects. Their goal was to raise $10,000 and a recent New York Times article said that the students have raised over $120,000. I just checked the site and they are currently at $175,630 from 4,836 backers. This means a lot of people believe in their idea and want to see another option to Facebook that preserves a user’s privacy.

The students say they are going to use the money to build the site over the summer and plan to launch in September. On Kickstarter they explain “Our goal is for everyone to have full control over their data and to empower people in to become responsible, secure, and social Internet dwellers. We believe offering this service will be helpful to non-technical users who are also worried about their data and privacy online.”

Some questions that come to mind after hearing about Diaspora are what does this mean for businesses? If many Facebook users end up switching over to Diaspora what will happen to the companies who put all this time into using Facebook to reach out to consumers? Some people may argue that Facebook is too big and popular to lose users, however, it is clear from the number of donations to Diaspora that people want to see another type of social network.

Will you stop using Facebook and switch to Diaspora once the software becomes available?

Posted by Megan/ @meganjlemoi