LBS LATAM 2010

Will Location Based Social Networks be like the restaurant business industry? Check their menu!

After the long weekend pass and I had the opportunity to summarize many of the emails and twitts received during the last weeks, I was surprised to still find new Location Based Social Networks coming to the market… not. This week I added to my List of Location Based Social Networks:  Match2blue, My Adventures, Snikkr , Mizoon, Nulaz , Toai , and Glympse.

I also found a few social networks closing or going through difficult times and struggling to survive. Then I remembered last Friday I was saddened to find one of my regular lunch places out of business. I just entered the Subway next door and had a sandwich. Today I found a “coming soon” sign at the same place.

Is there any parallel? Certainly there are LBSN for many tastes. There are gourmet types of Social Networks, others that appeal the masses, some that serve particular type of people, some are for dating, some are for business, some you need certain hardware to get in, and others that are by invitation only.

The fact is that in both cases the owners invest a considerable amount of money to get in, they dream to have fun and be unique, and in some cases they understand very little about the business model and end loosing all their savings.
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TOAI- Location Based Social Network (in Portuguese)

URL: https://www.toai.com.br/Default.aspx

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Excerpt from the website : “…O que é o Toaí?

É a primeira rede social que integra Internet e celular com o objetivo de reunir amigos através de uma mensagem. Ele estende a sua rede social da Internet para o celular, do virtual para o real.

Qual o custo de usar o Toaí?

O cadastro e acesso ao site é gratuito.

As mensagens do celular são cobradas: as operadoras cobram o valor quando você ou seus amigos recebem uma mensagem SMS (R$ 0,31 + impostos). O envio não é cobrado.

Para controlar o recebimento e com isso o custo, você tem vários recursos no site definindo de quem receber, quando quer receber e quanto você quer gastar com o serviço. …

My Adventures – Location Based Social Network for Outdoor Enthusiasts.

URL: http://www.myadventures.com/

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Excerpt from the website : “…
MyAdventures.com was created to fill a huge void.

Outdoor enthusiasts want to share, socialize, and gain recognition for their adventurous deeds. And to make new friends for future adventures.

That was difficult before this social network was developed.

There are hundreds of travel sites set up to sell travel. And there are hundreds of social networks set up to support idle chatter. But there’s only one site that enables outdoor adventurers to both share their trips with current friends and to meet new friends. That site is MyAdventures.com.

The inspiration for this site stems from my lifetime of adventure and world travel and all the wonderful people I have met from the Australian Aborigines to the Kalahari Bushmen and the polar-living Inuits to my fellow members in The Adventurers Club of Chicago, The Adventurers Club of Los Angeles and The Explorers Club of New York.

The motto of The Adventurers Club of Chicago fits MyAdventures.com quite well—“to provide a hearth and home for those who have left the beaten path and made for adventure”.

Helen Keller’s comment sums it all up “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”. If you feel the same way you’re an adventurer… and I hope you’ll join this site.

My sincerest welcome
Keith Bates

Keith Bates
Managing Partner

February 1, 2009
…

Snikkr – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://www2.snikkr.net/

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Excerpt from the website : “… Snikkr 1.0 is the next-generation social productivity tool for smart-phones. It brings together social networking, productivity and location-based services on your mobile phone, in one easy-to-use, low-cost package.

Snikkr provides great location-based services on your mobile device: mapping, directions, and local search. Snikkr knows where you are, and can help you get where you are going with just a few clicks.

Unlike other location-based application Snikkr lets you do a lot of this without a lot of typing or re-typing….

Pownce – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://pownce.com/

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UPDATE: Shut Down in December 2008

Excerpt from the website : “… Pownce was closed down on December 15, 2008. The engineering team and technology are now a part of Six Apart, makers of the best blogging tools around.
Thank-you

We want to give our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated on Pownce. We all got to meet and know so many wonderful people through Pownce and we’ll dearly miss sharing stuff together in the future. Hopefully we can all stay in touch through other means and keep these friendships alive.

Thanks to all of you,
The Pownce Crew…

nulaz – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://www.nulaz.net/

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Excerpt from the website : “…With Nulaz you can see where your friends are, share locations, and view local info. A cool party or the newest movie: Nulaz tells you what’s happening!…

Mizoon – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://www.mizoon.com/

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Excerpt from the website : “…Social Networking in a Social Setting mizoon is a FREE location driven social networking service.

Find your friends. Meet up with people near you. Find a restaurant or cafe, its menus and specials. Looking to shop? Locate a store down the block. Bargain hunting? Check out sales in your area.
FREE, EASY and FUN
Login to mizoon.com on your phone or computer
Choose your location, find friends, specials and sales
Discover interesting locations and events nearby!
mizoon does not require GPS or an application download-just an Internet connection.
…”

Match2Blue – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://www.match2blue.com/cms/

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Excerpt from the website : “…We at match2blue mobilize communities.
We offer an innovative interest and location based mobile social network.
Imagine …
… you are on a business trip and happen to check your phone using match2blue to be reacquainted with an old friend from college who works just around the block

…your phone informs you that the beautiful girl in the park is a fellow activist match2blue user who needs help organizing a fundraiser event.

… you are at a trade fair and with match2blue you meet the precise business partners you were looking for amongst thousands of attendees.
match2blue is a new mobile communication channel that is programmed to target feedback … in real time.

… you are the owner of a Jazz club. You send out a message to every match2blue user interested in jazz and cocktails, within a 10 miles radius, inviting them to your “2 cocktails for the price of 1” special until midnight

…you are an event promoter. You have the luxury of posting your events through match2blue, targeting those who have a high likeliness to attend

…you are the marketing manager of a well-known brand. match2blue allows you to send exclusive and targeted news to selected customers … and even ask for their feedback … in real time.
…”

Foyaje – Location Based Social Network app for iPhone

URL: http://i.foyage.com

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Excerpt from the website : “…Foyage is an iPhone app that lets you discover local information and share it with others. Let Foyage know your location and you can network with people who are in the same location, finding the best restaurant recommended by your friends, get the best deal around you and be informed when your loved ones are nearby. …”

Centrl- Location Based Social Network

URL: http://centrl.com/

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Excerpt from the website : “…Centrl helps you connect with your friends easily.
See where they are and communicate with them for free (no text messaging or SMS charges).
Share and discover events, favorite places and special money saving deals around you.
You can login to Centrl from your existing social-network, you do not need a new Centrl account.
Login to Centrl from Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Ning, Orkut, Bebo or Friendster.
Centrl is also integrated with Twitter.

…”

Troovy – Location Based Social Network Vancouver

URL: http://troovy.com/bc/vancouver/

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Excerpt from the website : “..What’s it all mean? Troovy is about finding businesses and services in your neighborhood and sharing your experience with others. It’s about deepening that connection by ‘checking in’ to these places on troovy when you’re actually there (or not). It’s about connecting with other people whose preferences and tastes match up with your own — hey, who knows what can grow from there?
…”

Twibble – Location Based Social Network app for Twitter

URL: http://www.twibble.de/

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Excerpt from the website : “..Say hello to twibble.
twitter is a great service to stay connected with your friends. With twibble you can tell your friends what are you doing, and where you are! Even with GPS on a Blackberry Curve 8330 or Symbian phone like the Nokia E71 or N95. Register with twitter, download twibble and start twibbling!

…”

EagleTweet – Location Based Social Network app for Twitter

URL: http://eagletweet.com/

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Excerpt from the website : “..What is EagleTweet?
EagleTweet is a bridge between FireEagle and Twitter. Depending on your settings it will set your Twitter location or even twitters your location.
How does EagleTweet work?
Every couple of minutes we’ll check FireEagle and if you’ve moved since the last time we saw you, we’ll update your Twitter location field.
…”

Friends on Fire – Location Based Social Network app for Facebook

URL: http://apps.facebook.com/on-fire/

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Excerpt from the website : “…Friends on Fire for Facebook helps you keep up with your friends, wherever you are! See your friends locations, share your own and send short messages, invitations and tips about the world around you. You can update your location using any Fire Eagle updater, and any time you update your location on Facebook, it will update all your other Fire Eagle apps automatically…”

Locaccino – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://locaccino.org/

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Excerpt from the website : “…Welcome to Locaccino. Our location-centered social application allows you to share your location with your friends. Whether they are checking to see if your flight landed safely, planning a Friday night outing, or just wondering if you are in the office to grab coffee, Locaccino is there to help you share!
Our Facebook Application
Get started by clicking Join Now to add our Facebook Application!
Privacy Controls
Locaccino is the only location-sharing system that gives you precision control over who can see your location. While most location-based systems only allow you to list which of your contacts should or shouldn’t be able to see your location, our privacy settings allow you to create rules as simple or complex as you want them to be!
Our technology allows you to easily define the times when you want to share your locations. Locaccino lets you create groups for your friends to simplify your location preferences. With Locaccino, allowing your co-workers to see your location from 8AM – 5PM is a snap.
Locaccino also allows you to specify where you can be located. Using a Google maps interface, you can define regions where you do and don’t want other people to be able to find you.
Locaccino Location Sensing
Our software will sense your location without even requiring GPS! By leveraging the wifi network of Skyhook Wireless, a nearby location will be found for you. The Locaccino software you’ll download will do all the work.
We Protect Your Privacy
We are the only location-based system with privacy researchers actively working to make sure that your data is kept safe. Our Privacy Policy explains in detail exactly how we store and process all of your data. We want you to know that your location information is saved anonymously and we will never sell any of your personal data.
…”

Flaik- Location Based Social Network

URL: http://www.flaik.com/

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Excerpt from the website : “…flaik combines location-based services with social networking, real-time competitions and mobile applications in a revolutionary system that can pinpoint the location of individual skiers, deliver run by run and day by day statistics, and enable skiers to share their day with friends and families – as it happens.

On the 26th November, flaik launched at Steamboat Ski Resort and Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado, USA.

…”

Microsoft Vine – Location Based Emergency Social Network

URL: http://www.vine.net/default.aspx/

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Excerpt from the website : “… About Microsoft Vine Use the dashboard to know what’s happening. Information associated with the places you have chosen will appear on your map, including articles from 20,000 news and public safety sources. Information from people you care about, such as alerts and reports, will appear on the dashboard too. Send and receive alerts. Organize people into groups – the sports team you coach, people who live nearby, family far away, special friends, and emergency contacts. Each person defines how they want to receive alerts – through e-mail, a text message, or on their computer. Reach them quickly using alerts. Post reports. You decide what you want to share with whom, and then the information is sent directly to their personal dashboard. Check in safe and well to let your family know you are okay, let trusted neighbors know you’re headed out of town, keep people informed of situations that matter, or share general information like the team practice schedule for the week….”

Google Latitude – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html

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Excerpt from the website : “… With Google Latitude, you can:
• See where your friends are and what they are up to
• Quickly contact them with SMS, IM, or a phone call
• Control your location and who gets to see it

Enjoy Google Latitude on your phone, PC, or both.

From your mobile phone – View your friends’ locations and status messages and share yours with them.
From your computer – View your friends’ locations and status messages on a full screen even without a compatible phone or data plan
…”

FourSquare – Location Based Social Network

URL: http://playfoursquare.com/

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Excerpt from the website : “…Welcome to foursquare!

We’re all about helping you find new ways to explore the city.

We’ll help you meet up with your friends and let you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people
…”