This document summarizes a meeting about geo-location services and discusses several key players in the space. It provides stats on user growth for Foursquare, from 725,000 users in March 2010 to over 3 million by late August 2010. Facebook's launch of Places in August 2010 resulted in Foursquare's largest single-day growth as users checked it out. Additional services discussed include Gowalla, Yelp, BrightKite, and newcomer Hunch. Stats on social gaming show 56 million Americans play such games and over half of social gamers are now women.

1. The Great Geo-Location DebateColumbus AMASocial Media SIG September Meeting

2. Thank You Sponsor Fahlgren

3. Announcements....November Social Media SIG Meeting: Wednesday, November 3, 2010Dublin Entrepreneurial Center7:30am--9:00am

4. Geo-location: What is it?Identification of the real-world geographic location of an object (cell phone or internet connected computer)

5. Determines meaningful location (street address rather than geographic coordinates)Geo-location can be determined by:GPS coordinates

6. IP Address

7. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

8. Wi-Fi Connection LocationA Few of the Key Geo-location Players

9. Big Kid in the Sandbox: FoursquareLocation based mobile media service based on your Twitter network with bonus of social gaming (launched 3/2009)Key Features"Check In" at specific geographic locations earning points

10. Twitter and Facebook interface

11. Review user-generated tips for locations nearby

12. Earn badges

13. Earn rewards as most frequent visitor or "Mayor"In Distant Second Place: GowallaLocation based mobile media service with precise check-in locations with the added bonus of virtually "pickup and drop off" of items (Launched 3/2009)Key FeaturesPrecise "Check in" locations

14. Piins for accomplishing stuff

15. Top 10 lists of users for each venue

16. Geo-location for Foodies: YelpAllows users to write and share reviews of local businesses and restaurants with the ability to share reviews via Facebook and Twitter (Launched in 2004)Key FeaturesOffer and review user generated reviews

17. Website interface to search by geographic location or type of venue or service

18. Facebook and Twitter interfaceAn Old Favorite: BrightKiteOne of the first geo-location apps available Key FeaturesSee nearby users

19. "Check-in"

20. "Check-in" and post a photo

21. "Check-in" and post a note

22. Initiate communication with other usersNew Front Runner: Facebook PlacesThe long awaited location based service from the world's largest social network (Launched August 2010)Key FeaturesCan "Check In" and add places that already exist

23. Tag people you are with

24. Check-in for a group

25. Non-mobile browser interface

26. Gowalla, Foursquare and Yelp integration

27. Booya to launch social game, InCrowdNew Kid on the Block: HunchA collective intelligence app that delivers personalized recommendations based on individual responses to a set of taste-determining questionsKey Features:Offers suggestions on restaurants, grocery stores, spas and more in a specific area

28. Best utilized in urban areas

29. Partnerships in the works with other social media networksStats to Think AboutMarch 2010 Foursquare reported 725,000 registered users

30. August 2, 2010: Foursquare reported 2.6 million registered users

31. August 29, 2010: Foursquare surpasses 3 million registered users

32. The August 2010 launch of Facebook Places resulted in Foursquare's biggest day of users registering -- likely comparison shopping Interesting Social Gaming StatsAs of August 2010: 56 million Americans play social games

33. 1 out of 5 Americans 6 years and older has played an online game at least 1 time

34. 53% of social gamers are women -- breaks 10 year trend of woman as minority game players

35. 35% of social gamers have never played a traditional video gameOn to the Main Event