3 reasons why location based marketing apps fail to live up to the hype

Location based marketing apps are consistently hyped as 'the next big thing' but there are three main reasons why they have so far failed to live up to the hype.

1) 30% of the time my phone 'cannot find current location'
Trying to get around in London involves dipping in and out of mobile coverage and more often than not, the time I really need to know where I'm going is the time my HTC refuses to cooperate so I don't see this proving very effective for regular check-ins.

2) There's not enough incentive for me to share my personal information

I don't have to tell you where I'm going or who I'm with. My personal data comes at a premium and I'm not prepared to share it with everyone who can access my online network just so I can be called 'mayor'.

3) Location based marketing is still the poor cousin of social networking apps

FourSquare issued a lovley infographic this week proudly claiming 3400% growth in 2010 - http://foursquare.com/2010infographic. But look at the small print. That's about 6 million users worldwide so I think I'll hang on just a bit longer until I get a personal recommendation from a social media savvy friend before I believe the hype.