Facebook announced they are entering the geo-location race with the announcement of Facebook places. Sounds like big trouble for Foursquare, Gowalla, and Scvngr! Surprisingly it's quite the opposite Facebook has invited the competition in via the new Facebook Places API. The API will allow badges to be shared across all platforms.
Facebook appears to be giving the competition a leg up. However, a familiar story may unravel. Facebook is perfectly positioned to become the dominant platform. With more than 500 million members, clearly it would be an easy transition for check in novices.
Picture it: Brand new smart phone in hand, 300+ friends on Facebook, it would be the obvious choice for checking in.
It may become very hard for competitors to offer a significant value proposition to lure users away from Facebook Places. Unless of course arch enemy Google enters the fray. Will these two foes slug it out once more, or will a new champion be crowned?
What This Means For You
- with Ruud Hein
- Check ins to rapidly become a social norm. With Facebook at the helm, the number of players is endless. An advanced social media platform also increase user interaction, and competition.
- Facebook is re-enforcing every aspect of itself to be the de facto social network. (see also: Why Facebook Bought A Semantic Search Engine)
- Social marketing managers have to add Facebook to their geo-location driven campaigns.
- and if you dont have a geo-location driven campaign, now is a good time to do a PMI analysis to see if geo-location is in your interest.