Category Archives: lbs

Facebook Places is at the beginning of a long road

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

Facebook’s much awaited Places product finally launched this week. It’s the first step toward bringing friend finding to the masses. People have been using Facebook to do this for years; posting their location in freeform status updates that their friends can … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, foursquare, geotagging, lbs, maps, mobile, twitter, wireless | Tagged | 6 Comments

Heading toward the Facebook recommendation engine

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

There’s an interesting thread over at Mike Blumenthal’s blog on the effect of Facebook Places on the local reviews space. My view is that reviews and updates will coexist, much as blogs and Twitter coexist. People who were less committed … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, lbs, local search, maps, yellow pages, yelp | Tagged | 15 Comments

Checking in with foursquare at SFO

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

With the increasing use of mobile applications such as Yelp and foursquare, it’s becoming possible to pull ideas from thin air. Users of these apps can leave tips for others to find that are linked to a specific location. In … Continue reading →

Posted in audio, foursquare, geotagging, lbs, local search, maps, mobile, social networking, twitter | Tagged | 1 Comment

Now we’re going Places

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been writing about Twitter and location since my first post about Twitter in 2007. This week, Twitter launched Places, which allows users to add their location to a tweet. Here’s a screenshot from 2007: and today: In 2007, I … Continue reading →

Posted in geotagging, gps, lbs, local search, maps, mobile, social networking, twitter | Tagged | 1 Comment

Geo-enabled Twitter comes alive on Twitter Maps

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been playing with Bing’s Twitter Maps lately and it’s one of the better implementations of Twitter’s geo APIs that were introduced last fall. It shows tweets within the last 7 days plotted on the map. Google Maps recently introduced a … Continue reading →

Posted in bing, geotagging, lbs, local search, maps, mobile, social networking, twitter | 3 Comments

Twitter and foursquare: the tipping point to getting local business online

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

Getting small local businesses to go online has been the holy grail of the Internet. I’ve written before about some of the reasons local business don’t go online and suggested several ways that they could use emerging technologies to get … Continue reading →

Posted in foursquare, lbs, social networking, twitter | Comments Off on Twitter and foursquare: the tipping point to getting local business online

Announcing reDesign mobile

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been working in wireless application design for more than 10 years and it’s really exciting to see wireless data take off. Mobile applications and widespread connectivity are bringing oceans of information to our fingertips. In the last year I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in lbs, mobile, mobile search, wireless | Comments Off on Announcing reDesign mobile

You too can be Rand McNally

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

How long does it take to get from Pike Place Market to Mount Rainier National Park? According to Google Maps, it’s a 5 minute walk; less than 1/3 of a mile. Pretty easy, huh? In reality it’s a 2 1/2 … Continue reading →

Posted in city guides, flickr, geotagging, google, gps, iphone, lbs, local search, maps, satellite navigation | 6 Comments

I am here, where is everyone else?

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Since the iPhone app store came online, I’ve been playing with a number of mobile social networks. There’s no shortage of them: Limbo, Loopt, Where and Whrrl are all attempting to play in the space. The central idea of mobile … Continue reading →

Posted in apple, facebook, flickr, gps, im, instant messaging, iphone, lbs, mobile, social networking, twitter, where, yelp | 9 Comments

Your customers are Twits

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Last year, I blogged about how local businesses could use Twitter to reach their customers. In that hypothetical example, a street vendor would let regulars know whether he was working or not. A number of large companies, including Zappos, Comcast … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, customer service, lbs, local search, marketing, social networking, twitter | 4 Comments