Geo-tagging is nothing new. It’s been used by Twitter, Flickr and more recently Youtube for a while now. It’s quite simple really: Sharing the location of your media as metadata. This allows people and API’s alike to search by location. Useful stuff!

In March 2009 Foursquare was launched, primarily in New York, but soon found itself checking people in all around the globe! The concept is again simple: Tagging yourself instead of a photo (or other media) in the form of a ‘Check-In’. Other people can also ‘Check-In’ to locations, and a hierarchy can be build for individual locations. It’s a superb example of social media turned addictive game! It works brilliantly with the ever evolving capabilities of smart-phones and other IED’s (Internet Enabled Devices).

But let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. Dennis Crowley, one of the head developers of Foursquare created a similar program back in 2005 called ‘Dodgeball’. It was soon snapped up by internet giants Google and closed down in 2009 (to make room for ‘Google Latitude’). So, Foursquare is mature. It’s evolved. It’s developed. And it’s got competition.

Facebook Places. Announced August 2010. It’s a big hit for Foursquare. After all, who want’s to go up against Goliath? Places allows users to ‘Check-In’ much like Foursquare, but that’s about it. I see what Facebook have done, in keeping it as a simple status update style addition it refrains from encroaching on Foursquare’s USP (Unique Selling Point). But it could have been so much more! And it should have been too. I was so excited to see the new icon on the Facebook iPhone app, and thought that something being added to the home screen of the app like that would be more than an additional way of updating your status, in effect. Perhaps the Facebook team have bigger plans for Places? I hope so.

For me, Foursquare is a much more addictive, interesting and smart geotagging application. Seem’s like David may have slayed Goliath again!? It’s hierarchy scheme, locational advice/tips and badges make it far superior to Facebook Places. Personally, I will use both. Foursquare for its addictive, fun nature. And Places for it’s ability to update friends and family on Facebook exactly what I’m up to, the essence of social media.