So I've been doing a lot of research on the new hottest thing in social networking: geo-location.  The fact that smartphones are in more and more pockets, all enabled with GSP, makes the possibilities of these networks interesting.  I have currently been trying out many of these services, both on the web and their respective iPhone apps.  I'm going to give you a little bit about each one.

All of these service center around checking in at locations.  You can link pictures, comments, and send them to Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites.  The popularity of Twitter drives these services.

Foursquare: Started in NYC, this is an awesome friend locator.  When you check in, it's going to let you know.  When you check in, you get points.  Points get you badges.  The game is to be the "mayor" of a location.  Some businesses are using Foursquare for promotions, such as the "mayor" of a coffee shop gets a free drink each time they come.  The possibilities for businesses and foursquare seem to be primed and ready to explode.


Gowalla: Gowalla is beautiful.  The design is catchy.  Right now, I would say it is my favorite.  When you check in places, there are patches and stamps you can collect.  They have also started building relationships with businesses to award players. Recently they partnered with inCase and Apple and gave away virtual and real iPhone inCase cases to people who check in at Apple retail stores.  I currently am using Gowalla as my network of choice.

Loopt: Loopt was one of the first networks I saw.  It would locate you on a map and allow you to say what you are doing.  It's interesting that they have evolved along with Gowalla and Foursquare to include check ins.  I like the map you can look at and see all the location of friends who have checked.  Again, this only works if your friends are actively opening the app and checking in regularly.

Yelp: What differentiates Yelp is the ability to leave reviews of the locations.  This is awesome for finding new restaurant, shops, coffee, in your area that rocks.  As a business owner, you can control the information available on your business's Yelp page, something like an online phonebook page.  You can edit information and release updates and promotion that show up on your city directory.  They have also started to add checkin so you can see what your Yelp friends are doing.

Brightkite: Another graphically well designed site. Check in and searchable to see what others are saying.  They also have a nice featured that allows for mass group text message conversations.   It seems like just another check in, conversation place, basically geolocation Twitter, which Twitter can do.

There are some draw backs to these services.  First is the people that use them.  I currently live in Pensacola, FL.  And not many people use these services.  Also, many locations don't have spots set up.  In the case of Gowalla, that makes it hard to collect items, because there are not any.  People who live in big cities will have a lot more to do with these services.

The other concern is the privacy issue.  Most friends I have think it's a great way to get stalked.  There is also a website that's called PleaseRobMe.com that is really just a wake up call.  The fact that telling people where you are can allow them to know where you are not.  The goal is to be aware of over-sharing.

I think that only one or two of these will really take off.  They are aiming at the exact same markets.  The two front runners now and Foursquare and Gowalla.  I think if you are interested in some of this, check one out.

My overall advice would be to find what your friends are doing and everyone use the same thing.  The point is to connect to people you know, meet people who like similar places as you, and share pictures and comments and reviews.  Do it where people will hear it.  If you want to see what I'm doing, I'm on Gowalla.  Friend it up.

I'd love to hear what you think.  Feel free to leave some comments.