Generation Nerd

For those of you who thought Foursquare was annoying (including myself), you may want to hide for the next decade or so. The social media giant, Facebook (more than 400 million users strong), is launching a new application that will combine status updates with physical locations. The large nation of Facebook users will ultimately take geotagging to the next level.

Location updates have been an increasing trend among social media. Foursquare is everywhere and seems to be growing at a steady rate. Gowalla, Brightkite and Loopt are also jumping in on the success of location based messaging. Even Twitter has an option for sharing locations through tweets. So, what’s pushing this application? Is it the users or marketing?

Besides a small segment of users wanting to tell a little bit more about themselves, marketing is the real force behind this movement. Imagine the possibilities for a corporation like McDonald’s…with simple keyword monitoring, they can find out who is tagging their locations and follow the buzz. At a relatively low cost, their advocates are marketing for them. The greatest reward will be the promotional activities that take place. McDonald’s can now send coupons or trials to it’s users via Facebook. As AdAge explains, it’s a win for the corporation and the consumer.

Personally, it would take much more than just letting people know where I am for me to use this application. Once coupons and deals are distributed through the application, I will gladly tell the world where I am. Call me a sellout or a cheapskate; I don’t care, so long as I can get a deal on my Big Mac.

Have you already joined the bandwagon? Are you ready to sellout?

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