subject: Facebook Introduces New Location Based Addition [print this page] Facebook is a social network service and website launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of July 2010 Facebook has more than 500 million active users, which is about one person for every fourteen in the world. Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile.
Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by workplace, school, or college, or other characteristics. The name of the service stems from the colloquial name of books given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.Facebook allows anyone who declares to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website.
Facebook announces a new way of communicating a users location, that will allow their current location to be seen by their friends. This new measure will increase the marketing possibilities for businesses and give consumers more localised information.
Location based social networks are springing up on on the web and Facebook wants to capitalise on this new phenomenon. There are already a number of social networks based solely on the users location. The "where are you now?" strapiline will soon be as common as "whats on your mind?"
Location based services will allow business to connect to consumers real time. Initially the location based services will allow a user to communicate with their friends, therefore allaying any fears of privacy that may arise. There has been increasing discussion about a user's privacy, given the amount of information facebook user's are making available in the public domain.
Given Facebooks 500 million users, they have the Scale make this service a hit from the outset. The Facebook iphone app will be a key driver of location based service that is envisaged by Facebook's product managers
