The media buzz around Facebook’s new geolocation Places feature didn’t even die down before the social-networking giant fueled the fire. Facebook acquired a startup called Hot Potato last week that could add some beef to Places.
Launched last November, Hot Potato helped stir the social-networking world’s appetite for socializing around activities and live events. With some users complaining that Facebook’s Places feature is a boring takeoff on competitor Foursquare, Hot Potato may heat up a so-far bland service.
Places lets Facebook’s 500 million members share their locations by “checking in” to that place — whether it’s a movie theater, a restaurant, or a Starbucks — to let friends know where they are. They can also see if friends have been there recently or are nearby. But you can’t be the mayor like you can in Foursquare.
A Places Soft Launch?
“Facebook wanted to create a foundation upon which they could build, so it’s not surprising that they are acquiring this company that can add functions to Places,” said Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis. “Facebook has learned from past mistakes that if they are too aggressive with the launch of a new product, they can run into opposition.”
As Shimmin sees it, Facebook’s Places launch was a tentative first step designed to get the geotagging service into users’ hands and give them an opportunity to get familiar with the concept without running into a major backlash from privacy advocates.
“Unfortunately, there are some aspects of how Facebook rolled out Places that could cause trouble,” Shimmin said. “Opting everyone in and not providing a really clear mechanism for opting out could be a problem, and they didn’t make it very easy to disallow people from checking you in.”
“At least they’ve allowed you to take yourself off the grid if you want to, but you… Details
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