Badges
It's nice that location services reward you with 'badges' for certain check-ins. However, getting a badge isn't enough for me to use it. It's also fun that you can see where your friends are hanging out, although I hardly ever look at the flow of check-ins.
Voyage of Discovery
Checking in at (unknown) places is also fun. It feels like you are discovering something new. Checking in at locations you often visit is not fun. As far as I'm concerned, such a check-in should be automated.
The push notifications are also useful. It gives you a sense of where your friends are. Once I met jamaica phone number list someone based on their Foursquare check-in. Another time it led to a meeting. Wouldn't it be more useful to also share where you're going, like TripIt and Forecast do? That way you're more likely to meet someone.
Small user group
Few people use location services, such as Foursquare. Certainly in the Netherlands. Some say there are 150,000 users in the Netherlands. Others say 175,000 or even 20,000 . Strangely enough, I saw myself following people I didn't know at all for this reason.
Useful, but not now
This does not imply that Foursquare is useless. As I wrote, I believe that location services have enormous potential. There are already companies that successfully use them to promote their brand, services and products. We have all heard of the "free coffee for mayors" and "get a free book with 10 checkins" promotions (I have collected some examples here ). I just think that location services are not useful now. We have to wait for more users. The world is just learning the power of social media for companies and institutions. The number of users is growing rapidly. Location-based services are part of the next wave. The acceptance and use of them will come, they seem to think.
Do you think so too? What are your experiences with location-based services? Have they been useful to you? I would love to hear from you. In the meantime, I will continue using these services. Waiting for other users!