Google Latitude

Ryan    Daily Point     Facebook, FourSquare, Google Latitude, Location Based Applications, Yelp

It’s been a while since I’ve written a little blurb about something I’ve found to be interesting, stupid, or at least noteworthy. A post from one of my Facebook friends this morning reading, “Can someone else please download Google Latitude? I need more people to stalk.” prompted me to set aside this stalling as after a bit of research and tinkering, I have found this service to be just that…  interesting, stupid, and noteworthy.

To begin, I have to say that Location based social networking applications like FourSquare, Yelp, Facebook, etc. are all relatively cool and forward thinking. Not only can you brag to all your friends where you are at all hours of the day, but you can earn rewards or even get deals at local venues. These tools are fun, and can sometimes be addicting for some, however I try and keep my updates to myself… unless I have someplace really awesome that I need to tell people about. That is not my workplace every day.

Google’s Latitude has taken this practice to a whole new level. Not only are location results real time, but the synchronization between Latitude and Maps seems pretty seamless. I haven’t done too much digging and prodding into the interface on my computer or phone, but you can be rest assured, I will be. As I sit here and type my thoughts down however, I’m a little astonished at how much and how often Google creates a new form of ‘Content’ that people will gravitate to… no matter if they love it or hate it. Not only are people going to be allowed to ‘check-in’ on Google Latitude, but local businesses and advertisers are going to be able to target ads and deals directly to these folks with much more accuracy and most likely, success. This will probably all be done in AdWords just like everything else -_-.

Say I’m logged into Google Latitude, and I’m checking to see where my friend Vance is at. Oh he’s at 7th Ave and McDowell…. oh and according to Latitude, there is a Starbucks right there that is offering 2 for 1 drinks right now. Are you kidding me?

Google has the capability to see who has viewed or clicked an advertisement. Now… they’re able to see if those view-through or click-through conversions actually  resulted in in-store visits or purchases (with reasonable estimation). To a location based advertiser with local stores or restaurants, this technology is golden. Not only will these types of tools validate what online marketers are doing and continuously try to explain to clients, bosses, or whatever, but they also give those end-users the feeling of social connectivity.. but we all know that this is kind of ridiculous.

Google owes a lot of gratitude to FourSquare, Yelp, and Facebook. However, in the end, its gunna be these guys who are going to have to change their game-plan to stay relevant with how people perceive and use their location based services.

I will most likely be writing on this topic more later on, so stay tuned.

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