Tom O’Keefe (TOKiBiz)

TechCrunch published an article on Saturday about when an iPhone only social network application will launch. This is called Location Based Social Networking and it basically utilizes the location tracking software of iPhones (any phone with GPS for that matter) to “discover” individuals in your immediate proximity.

Location based social networking is definitely not new or revolutionary but very difficult (financially and technically) to implement. Since I don’t have the deep deep pockets to implement this application I thought I would share my ideas for a new web and mobile phone application that is built around a location based social network.

Location Based Social Network (LBSN)

A location based social networking application connects people from within a location rather then friends of friends. With Facebook you make friends and then view their photos. With a LBSN application you connect via location (bar, restaurant, Fenway Park, etc.), then view photos based on that location. Friends are made not by connections but rather locations - people who have been to the same place as you.

Location

Facebook joins people with connections - who they know. A LBSN would make connections based on where we’ve been. Interactive maps “mark” a location (a bar, restaurant, concert hall, coffee shop, etc. ) The “mark” will then link to that location’s page (ie. Starbucks at Harvard Square) which contains a “news feed” of the latest photos/texts/videos captured from mobile devices at that location. The feed lists the most recent posts (photos, videos, text) to that location. Each post links to the profile of the subscriber who uploaded the photos/videos. You can then connect with the subscriber and add him/her to your friends list.

Sharing Posts from a Common Location

For example, college kids take a TON of pictures at bars - especially late at night. Everyone in the bar wants to see those pictures. Guys want to see pictures of the girls and the girls want to know who the guys are.

Say we are at Matt Murphy’s in Brookline Village. We log into LBSN with our mobile phone and it immediately knows our location to be Matt Murphy’s, Brookline. We then take a photo of our friends and send it to the social network. That photo automatically gets tagged according to location and gets added to the Matt Murphy’s (location) news feed for everyone to see. (Posts are also added to the subscriber’s news feed that both links to the post and the location where it was taken.)

Another guy at the end of the bar takes a video of his friends and sends it to LBSN. It too gets added to the Matt Murphy’s page for everyone to see. A girl sends a text to the LBSN commenting on the crowd at the bar.

Now everyone at Matt Murphy’s can view, watch and read the latest posts from the bar and comment back in real time. Their friends at home can log in via the web, view the Matt Murphy’s page and see all the fun they’re missing out on.

LBSN has become viral because it not only spreads via the web but also from word of mouth by individuals within the same location. A guy talking to a girl taking photos next to him wants to see them too so he registers with the social network right there at the bar.

The bar (location) has every incentive to promote their LBSN page. The more posts on their LBSN page (especially for bars) the more business it will draw. It’s a real time update of what’s happening right now at any given location. For those at home it’s sort of like a live web cam feed - but at NO cost to the location but of great benefit to them.

The bar (location) can also advertise specials on their LBSN page to promote repeat customers. The bar already knows that everyone has already been there so the potential (via advertising) to get them back is much easier. Advertisements can also be disguised as photos, texts and/or videos built directly into the news feed - seen both by those currently at the bar and at home.

Business

The same premise can work for business connections whether at a meeting, conference or trade show. Take a video of the conference and everyone at that location can view it. Advertisers can sneak business card into the news feed and the conference hall can promote upcoming events.

Music

A location based social networking application would work perfectly for concerts. Not only can people at the concerts view live photos from others but more importantly those at home can view videos of the event while it’s happening. Those at home can visit the Fenway Park location to view photos and videos of The Police show while it’s happening. If they don’t know where The Police are playing they can go directly to The Police LBSN page and (with tagging) see the real time feed from Fenway Park. They can also view previous videos from Madison Square Garden, Chicago and more.

History on Your Phone

By enabling the viewing of posts based on location you can in essence view the digital history of that location. If you’re standing in the middle of a ball field you can turn on your LBSN phone and view photos and videos from games past. While at the MFA you can view posts that others took when previous exhibits where on display. View photos from a party in your dorm room before you actually lived there.

A location based social networking application allows you to capture video/photos in real time and view the digital history of a particular location while at that location. YouTube, Flickr and Facebook display photos/videos from the past - location based social networking is right now!

Source: Tom O’Keefe at www.TOKiBiz.net. If you want to develop a location based social networking site, or want to help Tom fund, implement and/or develop a location based social network, then feel free to contact him at 617-947-8071 or the email above.