Never Under Estimate the GOOGLE Power!

Last month Google unleashed there newest service known as Google’s +1. According to all of the hype, Google’s +1 has the potential to compete with Facebook and Twitter. That wasn’t the only service Google unleashed last month. Google also launched the social changes made to their Latitude product, which has been designed to compete with Foursquare.

Google took their Google Latitude product and added a deals/check-in element to it. It is similar to Foursquare in how it will allow users to gain status at different locations as well as “unlocking” offers. The main thing to know about Latitude is that users share their location with others in real-time. When installed on your mobile device, Google Latitude will automatically update based on a few factors including location movement, battery life, and speed based on GPS. In order to share this information with others, there must be a mutual acceptance. 

Instead of a friend or family member texting you to ask “What you are up to?” or “Where are you?”, they can simply follow you on Google Latitude and view your location. As expected, the issue of automatic sharing of a person’s location has spurred many privacy issues. Google also allows tracking of location history, which created more privacy issues and concerns. Google simply allows users to turn the automatic location updater on or off based on there preference. 
                                                                                                                                   Google Latitude is different from Gowalla, Foursquare, and Facebook Places because it brings in the benefit of automatic location sharing. The question is, how will this effect retailers? Although the answer is unclear right now, we can assume that Google Latitude and Googles +1 will be the next Social Media tool on the market to directly impact retail locations. It is an exciting and creative time in the Social Media world and we are all trying to stay informed with the present as well as peeking into the future.