Location-based Social Media

Social media based on location can be used to help people connect and meet in real life, to give discounts for businesses as you walk in the door, and to develop loyalty programs based on check-in. However, these kinds of apps also have a dark side: complete strangers will know where you are and when you're away from home. This creates an interesting user demographic that is majority male (60% in 2012) and young. You may now hear location-based social media referred to as SoLoMo (Social-Local-Mobile), which is a merging of location-based technology with ever-present mobile and social media.
		Description (from The Guardian): In this video obtained by the Guardian, Raytheon's 'principal investigator' Brian Urch explains how the Rapid Information Overlay Technology (Riot) software uses photographs on social networks. These images sometimes contain latitude and longitude details -- automatically embedded by smartphones within so-called 'exif header data'. Riot pulls out this information, analysing not only the photographs posted by individuals, but also the location where these images were taken. How secretly developed software became capable of tracking people's movements online
		How I became a Foursquare Cyberstalker, by Leo Hickman, The Guardian, July 2010. Foursquare Security Concern Addressed: Social Network Provides Privacy Option, by David Angotti, Search Engine Journal, September 20, 2011. 2013: The Year of SoLoMo? by Michael Szewczyk, Wired: Innovation Insights, January 16, 2013. How Foursquare Is Forcing Social Networks to Check In or Check Out, by Michael Calore, Wired: Underwire, March 12, 2013.
		Here are the sites for several social media platforms that use Geolocation. Don't try any of these if you (like me) question the security of sharing locations of these platforms. Foursquare (targeted deals based on location) Yelp (targeted deals based on location, participant reviews) Facebook Location Check In SCVNGR (complete challenges at the location where you check in, earn points)