Location-based applications: What’s all the buzz about?

Amongst the plethora of mobile technology, none have taken the mobile world by storm quite as significantly as location-based applications, or LBAs. By means of reliable services such as GPS, we may now effortlessly find our location and choose the most convenient route to get to our destinations. Alternatively, Geo-tagging provides the possibility of uploading information on the web with data about your current physical location attached. Yet location-based apps are proving to be much more than the passive endeavourssuch as the two above.

Quite the contrary, applications like Foursquare allow the user to interact not only with other friends’ locations, but with the locations themselves. When one ‘checks-in’ a location, Foursquare lists close-by places of interest. The user is further integrated into a scheme of points and badges, redeemable for coupons as well as the prestigious online title of ‘mayor’ of that particular location. Thus, companies have turned LBAs into one of their biggest assets, setting up competitions between their consumers who strive to become ‘mayors’ in order to win special deals and free items. Furthermore, the notion of promoting events to people who are nearby is one that is clearly lucrative for many an event company and will surely continue to be exploited in the coming years.

The interactive potential of such technology could balloon into a more and more personalised service. Let us say for example, that a popular fast-food chain would like to tailor its services to the location of their different branches. If users were to indicate a preference for a specific type of food at a specific time of day using LBAs, the company would be able to adapt to its location, getting more traffic, and serving their clientele better. In the same vein, the LBA Yelp, for instance, will not only list restaurants near the user, but more importantly, restaurants that match that user’s interests and spending habits. Such a situation cannot be described as other than beneficial for all involved.

Whilst the development of location based applications is still in its early stages, it is almost certain that they will continue to rapidly progress in a manner that will be both convenient to the user who wants to exploit his surroundings, and companies who would like to cater to that user’s specific needs. With endless novel possibilities and the capacity for mainstream success, it is safe to conclude that is well worth keeping a watchful eye on such technology.