I Get Around: Location Based Services for Boomers

This was originally written for, and posted on, MediaPost: Engage: Boomers.

Last week, scheduling a dinner meeting, I tried to recall the name of a restaurant where I had recently eaten a phenomenal cacio e pepe dish.  I could see the restaurant in my mind and even the approximate location but for the life of me I couldn’t remember its name.  I could have googled it or just described the location to my dinner guest had it not dawned on me: I could just log into my Foursquare account and view my history.  And, voilà there it was: Maialino, at 2 Lexington Avenue.  And, I had one of those “ah ha” moments: realizing the power of a technology for more than it’s originally developed uses.  In this case, geo location services for boomers.

If you don’t know, Foursquare is just one of a number of new mobile social networks e.g., Gowalla, Loopt Star, Where, BriteKite, MyTown, PegShot – that use GPS driven location tagging to allow users to check in, post tips and more importantly share that information with their friends.  Each check-in rewards the user with a badge, passport stamp or points.  Some of the services have signed up with retailers, entertainment companies and manufacturers to offer savings or other rewards for loyal customers.  For instance, on Foursquare, Mayors (that’s the badge a user earns for being the most frequent visitor to a location) to Starbucks locations can receive a $1 off on a frappuccino.  Others offer up retailer coupons or ads upon check in.  Loopt, which was an early entrant in geo location social network, re-launched its platform last month as a virtual loyalty program. Users receive discounts, coupons, and other rewards for checking-in to select locations from major national name brands including Burger King, The Gap and Universal Music Group.  There are also social good focused geo location services such as CauseWorld and Scavnger that allow users to check-in and redeem their points for causes they support.  And, more recently, Yelp and Facebook announced that they too will join the fray with their own location based service.

But, back to my “ah ha” moment.  I’m sure some are wondering why a baby boomer would even bother checking in to locations throughout the day, leaving essentially digital breadcrumbs marking their movements.  Like status updates, why would boomers want to broadcast where they are at any given moment of the day? Not to mention the privacy and safety implications of all these geo location services.

Because these services can be extraordinarily helpful:

• Technology powered digital memory jogger: We are all prone to memory lapses.  How nice to have a recorder of your travels on your phone.  No need to remember the address; the geo location service automatically populates.  If you use the comment section to record a note something you especially enjoyed or despised – a bottle of wine, a helpful sales clerk, etc. – a scan of your check in history can jog your memory.

• Tips from known reviewers:  Unlike review sites like Yelp, I know the people who have left tips at places I check in to.  For instance, two weeks ago, I’ve checked into a new restaurant, only to discover that one of friends has been here before and left a tip of a dish to order. I know that person and the tip was spot on.

• Real time ability to connect in real life with friends and colleagues:  Each of these services offers the ability to see what’s trending at any given moment near your location – as well as where your friends and colleagues have checked in (assuming that they enabled sharing).  On a day-to-day basis, I admit, I almost never use this feature but at conferences, it is invaluable.  And, occasionally, I’ve had the absolute delight of a family member connecting with me spontaneously based on a check in.

• Onsite retail rewards:  While coupon use is on the rise, I’ve never been a serious coupon user.  It’s too much effort.  But the surprise and delight factor of receiving an on-site reward or discount for checking into a location is not only priceless but can also drive product trial and foster loyalty. For instance, after my fifth check in to Starbucks, I earned a barrister badge and a tall latte.

As geo location services become mainstream, it will be important both for developers and advertisers to remember that it’s not just the Millennials who will be checking in; it will also be Boomers.  If you’re in doubt: remember three years ago few believed that Boomers would embrace Facebook.  But they did.