Foursquare, Facebook Places, and GoWalla are great for letting people know where you are, right at that moment, or where you’ve been. The next generation Geo Social Tools will enable you to know where you are going.
There are several new applications out currently that small businesses need to hone in on, sooner rather than later. The three that look the most promising are crowdbeacon (no longer valid), imup4, and ditto. These new style geo-location tools enable the user to plan for where they are going to go, in both a social manner among their group of friends, as well as from everyone connected.
For example, Jane Smith has an iPhone, and is a member of crowdbeacon. When she signed up, she stated she was a local expert in Worcester MA’s dining scene. A random user, named Fred posts, “Where can I get a good steak around here?” Jane, as a local expert, can respond and give a suggestion, such as, “I prefer Restaurant X. Great service, too!” Fred’s friends on crowdbeacon can give their opinions as well, stating things like, “Restaurant Y is the best in Worcester. Give that a try tonight!” One may respond, “Hey Fred, you’re in Worcester tonight? Let’s meet up at Restaurant Z!”
That’s nice for the person to person, but the bigger advantage goes to the small business in Worcester who has signed up. They can automatically say, “We are the best place to get a great steak in Worcester! And because you asked, you can have 5% off too!” Small businesses can enter in keywords to search for, so that someone who does not exactly specify “steak” will still show up under keywords such as restaurant, burger, food, etc..
Friends can use these tools to set up meeting places. Let’s pretend for a moment that a group of people are trying to settle on a seafood restaurant. Using this tool, they can discuss where they are interested in going. On top of that, restaurants can chime in, and give reasons for the group to go to a specific location. Forget calling your friends, and trying to guess where the best meal and deal is. Instead, communicating with this type of app may make the restaurants battle over who is going to provide the best service to you that evening.
All of these apps are in the very early stages, and with small followings, which means their effectiveness is still lacking. It will take some time for the concept to hit home with everyone. Switching from “Where were you” to “Where would you like to be” makes an amazing amount of sense. Better to plan ahead, rather than simply learn what you may have missed.
