Facebook very close to launching its geo-location API


11 Aug 2010

Very soon Facebook users will be able to see where their friends are on a map or get directions to bargain offers and cool venues. The company is on the cusp of launching new services to compete with Foursquare in the geo-commerce market.

In May Siliconrepublic.com reported that the social network Facebook was planning to launch location-based status updates to compete with Foursquare. And big brands like McDonald’s are queuing up to be a part of the action.

Facebook has since breached the 500 million user milestone, and with the introduction of location features will cement its position in the €100bn smartphone market.

According to reports, the new Facebook location features are going to take the form of an application programming interface (API) for developers to integrate new products and services and make use of location aware data and services.

This could unleash a whole new creative wave among developers who could add interesting location applications that allow people to pretty much merge the physical world with the real world. Imagine for example, not only ‘liking’ a restaurant but also voicing your approval with a ‘like’ on the spot after enjoying an amazing soup!

The move will give Facebook unprecedented bargaining power in the burgeoning smartphone business.

Location is rapidly becoming the new mantra for social networking players. In recent weeks the Twitter Place directory was launched, allowing Twitter users to attach a location to their tweets.