Facebook's Foursquare competitor is imminent
The long-rumored geolocation “check-in” feature at Facebook is slated to debut within weeks, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNET. — It's going to take the form of an application program interface (API) for third-party companies …
Context & Ripple Effects
This has been telegraphed for months. TechCrunch reported in May 2010 that Facebook location was coming within weeks but couldn't say whether the target was Foursquare or Twitter, and back in November 2009 argued Facebook was already poised to dominate geo on the strength of its social graph alone. What's new today is CNET's sourcing on shape and timing: multiple sources say the feature debuts within weeks as an API for third-party companies — still a rumor, not a confirmed launch.
First-order effects
- Foursquare goes from competing with startups its own size to facing a check-in product attached to the largest social network — the same graph-based scale advantage TechCrunch flagged in late 2009.
Second-order effects
- Third-party developers and venue-reward programs face a platform choice: Foursquare's incentive layer, which Time profiled in January 2010 as rewards for checking in, versus building on Facebook's rumored API with far larger distribution.
Third-order effects
- If the API model holds, location stops being a standalone app category and becomes a feature embedded in social platforms — with whoever controls the check-in data layer setting terms for merchants and developers alike.
The trend: Standalone check-in services are converging toward platform features, as large social networks open location APIs that turn place-sharing into developer infrastructure.