Foursquare and Google Buzz ask: Where are you?

Feb 21, 2010, 13:29 GMT

Hamburg - 'Where are you right now?' might end up being the question of the year 2010 among internet enthusiasts as location- specific services such as Gowalla and Foursquare become more and more popular.

Internet giant Google recently entered the field with the introduction of its new service Google Buzz. Gowalla and Foursquare come from the US and are something like a mixture of friendship radar and a virtual lottery. Users post their location and provide some commentary about what they are doing. For example, someone eating in an Italian restaurant can send a message recommending the pepperoni pizza.

Users also can look on a map to see where their own contacts are at a given time. The services require particular technical equipment, namely a mobile phone with a GPS receiver and internet access. Presence detection offers a playful incentive.

Every time a user 'checks in' he or she receives points and virtual rewards. A Foresquare user who checks in the most from a particular cafe or restaurant can call himself the mayor of the location and put a crown on in his head in his profile photo.

Just as when Twitter started some people openly wonder what the point of such services is. Ibrahim Evsan, an entrepreneur in Germany who has used Foursquare intensively for four weeks, said people have to try out the service in order to understand it.

He raises his flag on the virtual map about 20 times a day and says he values the service because it brings people together. Once when Evsan wanted to go out for a meal with a friend, he saw that two of his Foursquare contacts were nearby and they all went into a restaurant together and enjoyed 'a really nice evening together,' Evsan said.

Evsan sees further advantages in using Foursquare. His friends' gourmet tips, for example, and the statistics that show him where he has been over the past couple of days. In addition he likes participating in the playful games.

People who consider their private sphere sacred might not have much interest in these services. Mobile communications expert Arno Wilfert sees the internet generation, which includes people willing to share information about themselves, as the target group.

'The users are already used to divulging things about themselves,' said Wilfert, a partner at consulting company Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Revenue from such services are in Wilfert's view negligibly small: 'The business models are still in test phase and there is no large revenue driver.'

But he sees potential, particularly in location-dependent advertising and marketing. Businesses could lure customers with discounts and bars could reward their regular customers with free drinks.

Foursquare more than any other service is drawing the interest of major companies such as Pepsi and Warner Brothers, both of which have signed partnership deals with the startup. Foursquare has about a one-half million users - still a niche. But the company says its user base is growing by 60 to 70 per cent per month.

The competition will soon could become tougher. Numerous startups are copying the concept. There have been news reports that Facebook is working on offering the option to 'check in' from a mobile phone. With its more than 350 million registered members, the social networking service in one fell swoop would have critical mass ensuring that the friend radar never shows a blank.

And then there's Google. Its short message service Buzz is competition not only for Twitter, but also the geo services because the mobile version of the service will show where the user is on its popular map service, Google Maps. With a click of the mouse users will see commentary, links, photos and videos.