Where in the World Are You?

Have you heard of Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Britekite, Google latitude, twitter location, Facebook location (which is due out soon); the new buzz of the web is who will be the leader on keeping tabs on your location. I have joined foursquare and google latitude and started checking in for a few locations around the office and my house, which begs the question how “social” do i want social networking?

For example Foursquare wants you to unlock your world, using your cell phone or text message (US only) by checking in to locations. Using your cell phone’s GPS functionality to tell you what is close to you, suggestions from other Foursquare users, and the ability to add locations. Once you check in you can let your friends know and also share this information on twitter and Facebook. If you have checked into a location the most you become the Mayor of that location. There are also discounts on some Foursquare locations where you could get drink specials if you check in to a location. Check out the video on Foursquare here.

Facebook will be launching their Geolocation based software soon which will integrate with the most popular site on the web. So what will happen when Geolocation hits the mainstream? How will brands use this information? Could be the rise of geotargeted pay per click or location based services; what a great way to target your customers.

This is going to be great for marketers but what about privacy? Do I really want the world and markets to know where i am all the time. If i am at the mall I don’t want text messages from say the Gap saying i could get a discount if i could stop in the store. Imagine all the junk text, emails, tweets, fB messages you would get by just walking around in the King of Prussia Mall. It would be nuts.

There will be a thin line on how people will want their information used. So there are a lot of i’s to dot and t’s to be crossed before everyone is loving geolocation. I think it will be here to stay…What are your thoughts? Concerns? Excited?

Check out Foursquare, Google Latitude, Gowalla, Loopt, and Britekite below