In theory, Foursquare and location-based services should be all the rage these days within social media.
Much like Twitter was enthusiastically embraced by the digitally-savvy before it burst into the mainstream, Foursquare and rivals such as Gowalla were expected to follow the same path.
But unlike what happened at the SXSW conference in 2007 when Twitter exploded on the scene, Foursquare stumbled out of this year’s conference with little buzz.
Sure, Foursquare has two million registered members and recently attracted $20-million in venture capital but there doesn’t appear to be much excitement about it or the location-based services market.
The tepid approach was illustrated earlier this week when Forrester issued a report that only 4% of online adults in the U.S. have used location-based mobile apps and that only 1% update these services more than once per week.
Forrester also discovered that 84% of respondents said they’re unfamiliar with location-based services, which is not the most encouraging news for anyone who believes location-based services have the potential to become more than a niche market.
The big problem with location-based services is their struggle to provide more value than simply giving people the ability to “check-in”. Once the novelty of broadcasting your location to the world starts to wear off, there’s no compelling reason to use Foursquare, et al.
This is not to suggest location-based services will evolve and find ways to engage with large amounts of users but there doesn’t seem to be any indication yet that they will anything more than niche services.
In an ideal world, Foursquare will provide consumers with access to lots of value-added information, including promotions from retailers looking for ways to reach consumers with the right offer at the right time at the right place.
While it’s probably still early days for location-based services, the jury is still out on whether they will become solid members of the social media landscape or whether the hype is unjustified.
