Who’s checking in and who’s checking out?
There’s no denying the growth of location sharing over the past few years, but not without steep competition for the variety of mobile platforms vying for the top spot. The mobile phenomenon of location sharing emerged circa 2007 with platforms like Brightkite and has solidified itself as a stronghold in modern culture through platforms like Gowalla, Foursquare and now Facebook Places. As the location craze continues to grow, competing platforms have had to evolve and innovate new ways to draw in users, spanning from digital badges to discounts, deals and other loyalty rewards. (More on location-based networks in 360i’s POV on Mobile Social Marketing.)
This past week, check-in pioneer Brightkite officially checked out of the location wars, making them the first high-profile location based service to bow out of the race. Brightkite will continue to operate as an application but is shifting its focus to group texting, including photo and location sharing but without actual “checking in.”
In other location news, Foursquare surpassed the 5 million user mark this past week. Foursquare currently boasts the largest user base for a location based services, growing by about 25,000 users per day. The average Foursquare user checks in 3-4 times per day, for a platform total of roughly 2 million daily check-ins.
Wrapping Up 2010
As the year draws to a close, a number of videos, websites and applications have emerged offering recaps of the past year.
My Year in Status 2010 has been flooding Facebook newsfeeds as users allow the application to create a collage of past statuses from 2010. Users can choose from a handful of designs and share their results with their friends.
Twitter’s Year in Review shows a timeline of new celebrities who joined Twitter throughout the year. In 2010, Twitter grew by more than 100 million registered accounts, spanning from the Dalia Lama and Bill Gates and to Joe Jonas and Conan O’Brien. While much of the site is still in development, it will be interesting to see how the 140 character phenomenon took the world by storm in 2010. Twitter also revealed the top Twitter trends for 2010 in News Events, People, Movies, TV, Technology, sports and more. Not surprisingly, top trends included things like the Gulf Oil Spill, FIFA World Cup, Inception, the iPad and Justin Bieber.
Wondering what were 2010’s biggest global trends in technology, creativity, and more? Check out Contagious Magazine’s “Most Contagious 2010” website for a free round-up of some of the most interesting and viral trends of 2010.
