Pros & cons of using Facebook, Twitter geo-location features

Any day now, you’ll be able to let your Facebook friends and Twitter followers know where you are when you post status updates.

Daniel Ionescu’s article in PC World says Facebook will start adding friend location starting next month, though it’s uncertain exactly how this will work. Twitter turned on its feature briefly this week and then turned it off. On the main stream, Twitter will show maps overlaying individual tweets, together with place names and your location. On both sites, the geo-location features will be optional.

Ionescu offers three reasons for using them:

  • To get social recommendation from real people
  • To find relevant local news
  • To find friends and cool people around you

His three reasons for not using them:

  • Criminals are reading Facebook and Twitter status updates, too. I wrote about how unsuspecting Twitterers are showing up on sites like PleaseRobMe.com
  • Even more advertising in your face
  • The lack of control over who actually sees your location.

If you’re planning to use the geo-location features, let’s hear why. If not, why not? Share details of how you’ll use these features in a PR campaign. Comment here.

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  • Ronnie P. Goff

    Gotta say something about this because I did a post about getting advise from a Forum anonymously!!! Example A ‘How To” telling everybody you do not know what you doing in a
    Chair Caning situation so your client present, & future read it, & you’ve just shot yourself in the foot, right? Maybe, & maybe not but why take the risk by posting your name, & business when you can do it anonymously!
    I would not if I was running my business out of my home, & not
    from a store front!
    I’m learning fast what to give up, & what not to give up where information is concerned!!!
    It is after all the Wild, Wild, West on the 21st century frontier!!!

  • Sharky

    Wow, that’s a really clever way of tkhinnig about it!