I recently read the article “Mayoral Runs” from the September issue of Time magazine. “Mayoral Runs” discusses location-based social network sites like foursquare and Gowalla and it sparked my curiosity. Before reading the article I have to admit that the extent of my social media knowledge was Facebook. And I didn’t really spend too much time on it because although I enjoy having 300+ friends I really only stay in touch with a handful of people. When I do use it, it’s mainly out of boredom and all I do is browse through old friends’ photo albums. Which now that I think about it, sounds kind of creepy.

What is foursquare?
Foursquare is a mobile application that allows users to “check in” to physical locations, broadcast to friends or the world where they are, and in the process they can win Foursquare recognitions (badges) and even get real discounts at businesses like Starbucks. According to Foursquare, it is “less to pinpoint your location than to offer guidance on what experiences you should seek out (or avoid) there.”  Even though I feel like I can figure out where to go and what to do without having to log on to location-based social network sites, I do think it can make cities easier and more interesting to explore. Now I feel compelled to get the most out of my smartphone by logging on to Foursquare and finding all the local hot spots that I’ve been missing.

Advertising potential
Another thing that fascinates me about the possibility of location-based networking sites is the potential for personalized advertising. I think this is a step closer to the kind of advertising shown in the futuristic movie, “Minority Report.”

Security
There are security concerns that have become an issue for those disclosing their every move. For example sites like PleaseRobMe.com and ICanStalkU.com have been launched to expose the danger of location-based social network sites. Basically, PleaseRobMe says that every time someone post his location in location-based social network sites, “that person is publicly announcing that he is not home, which could be taken to mean, no one is home.” And even if you do not disclose your home address, your friends might want to “check in” telling everyone where they are, and that is your address on the Internet. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say that our homes could be burglarized when we are using these sites because most of us are not home during business hours anyways. I think there’s more of a real chance that we might get a stalker or two.

In response, Foursquare has an option called “off the grid,”  that lets users earn frequent user perks without disclosing their movements to fellow members. For security purposes people should know with what people and social sites they are sharing their location. With these precautions, location-based social network sites are hoping that users will get comfortable with the idea of sharing their whereabouts. I too am concerned about security, but like many users, until it happens to me, I am not worried.

Image Credit: nan palmero