Facebook Enters the Check-In World With its Newest Feature

Social-networking giant Facebook has now entered the check-in world.

On Wednesday, Facebook executives announced the launch of Facebook Places. This new feature will allow people to use the GPS on their mobile phones to let friends know exactly where they are.

This new feature is similar to services such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Over this past year, the growth in the relatively new mobile check-in space has been huge. It has been gaining a lot of popularity in both the younger and older generations.

Foursquare essentially made its debut in 2009 at the South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin, Texas. At this year's festival, Foursquare was going up against their Austin-based rival, Gowalla, in a so-called "Location War".

Since that time, Foursquare has become the public favorite of the two. It has also become a darling of tech media, boasting a half-million users at the start of SXSW, Foursquare doubled that in about a month and then needed only three more months to hit 2 million last month.

With Facebook's half a billion users, it seems pretty certain that they will be able to win over the market share in the check-in world.

On mobile apps like Foursquare, users "check in" at restaurants, movie theaters, bars or just about anywhere they go. The idea works two ways -- it lets your friends know what you're up to and earning virtual badges in the application's gaming element.

Some people I know have become "mayors" at their favorite Starbucks or other coffee shop.

The New York-based Foursquare has begun forging some corporate partnerships and some businesses have started offering discounts and other deals for users who check in frequently. That means that these kinds of mobile apps aren't just fun for the users, they also help get local stores and restaurants more business because people visit them more often to gain virtual points.

It seems, however, if you just compare the numbers, that Facebook will soon overtake all the other check-in mobile apps, including Foursquare, and will become the big boss with this side of the social world as well.

Facebook's platform is expected to allow third-party applications to integrate with it to offer at least some of its check-in features to developers of new apps.

Foursquare might survive, however, if they come up with a nice new marketing strategy or if they add some cool new feature that "makes everyone's dreams come true". They will have to work hard if they wish to keep their place, no matter what they do.