Facebook to Make Location Services Announcement
Facebook, the world’s number one social networking site, will hold a news event tomorrow at its corporate headquarters, to announce its new location-based service.
While Facebook has confirmed little, it has been rumored that the social networking site might be partnering with Foursquare, which Facebook attempted to buy earlier this year.
Whatever form Facebook’s service takes, by introducing location-based services to its 500 million members, the site is sure to see some significant reaction.
Clearly, both Facebook and Foursquare have a significant stake in this burgeoning market. Location based services are of serious interest to Internet marketers, despite the fact that a very limited percentage of the population – 4% according to Forrester Research – uses the services.
That represents an untapped market, one rife with possibilities. Knowing a user’s location would make targeted marketing all the easier.
Any program designed by Facebook will face significant questions concerning privacy and Internet security. Facebook has weathered serious storms over both issues within the last year.
Users may be hesitant to willingly give up one of the last bits of privacy they have, particularly if they view revealing their location as a threat to their physical safety or Internet security.
A physical location makes direct attacks against a user’s Internet security easier, as it gives potential hackers valuable knowledge. In the case of a location with an open network, such as free Wi-Fi, that sort of knowledge is akin to leaving the front door of a house unlocked.
Regardless of the potential dangers, a Facebook supported location-based service would, no doubt, create quite a stir among the site’s members. The company’s announcement tomorrow will certainly draw attention and, most likely, quite a bit of debate.
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