Why I feel the way I feel about Facebook, Places, and location
For a long time, I was outside looking in when it came to location-based services. Without a smartphone, I relied on the occasional wifi signal from a spot that I was frequenting. Now with my Droid X and mobile incursion lifestyle, I’ve been busy with Foursquare and Gowalla. And until a doctoral student at UPenn recently surveyed me about using location apps, I wasn’t 100% sure about why I used them.
Location is about adding a level of information, a layer we might say, to the world around us. Seems easy enough. I create venues on Gowalla/Foursquare because it helps give context. I take pictures and post them as well. Perhaps this work will help others create better, digital maps for the next wave of location apps. So I suppose I should have taken Facebook’s roll-out of Places a bit better than I did.
Facebook’s problem
We know how The Zuck and others work over in Palo Alto (just up the road from me). They release a new feature and, regardless of how public opinion seems to sway at the time, tell us how it’s going to make our lives easier. They’re right about half of the time. Think of the Feed Controversy. Facebook’s hope is that, for those who use location already, Places will become one more easy integration with the social web. For those who don’t use location, maybe Places will help bring them into the fold. My belief is that Facebook has jumped the gun here. Plenty of the users don’t trust the web with such information. My girlfriend, for one, thinks that my rampant checking in is probably mildly dangerous and almost certainly inane. :) If you haven’t seen it, watch Facebook’s video about Places (featuring a bevy of well-to-do gentlemen but no ladies):
Creating the expectation of serendipity, not so much
Maybe Facebook is picking the lowest common denominator of the original intent of the service itself: Connecting people digitally who know each other in real life. But name one person on Facebook besides your grandma who would feel 100% comfortable sitting down with a random friend from their list. Do it. I can’t name myself. I use Facebook to keep in touch, yes, and I’ll be perfectly frank when I declare that I also use it as a broadcast medium. Do I want to have a random cup of coffee with every “friend”? Nope. By enabling Places (with it’s complicated privacy controls, of course), such a high level of interplay with our real lives, Facebook is creating the expectation of serendipity, and I don’t think that we’re ready for that just yet.
Creating context for the next level of digital mapping, sounds good
When the fellow in the video talks about seeing his friends’ comments about the Golden Gate Bridge, I think of why I use location services. The more users who are actively mapping (new) territory and leaving tips, trips, photos, and descriptions, the greater our digital context will be. At least in this sense, I think that Facebook is on to something. By allowing Foursquare, Gowalla, et al. to hang onto their “territory”, so to speak, through Facebook Connect and pushing check-ins to Facebook, the world’s largest social network is still playing the open game, and I respect them for that.
The Places logo, because I have to address it
Facebook is an asshole.
Bottom line on location
Will people continue to use location-based services? Yes. Will more people join the social location party? Of course. Is Facebook ahead of the curve? Time will tell. Still, I think that the piecemeal release of a late-to-the-game product that mirrors others but lacks proper privacy controls is a bit insulting, especially when it lacks Android support. :)
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