Image by stevegarfield via Flickr

This morning, Facebook announced that it would be taking it’s highly praised and highly controversial Open Graph and Like Button to the streets.  Soon, this functionality will be available on mobile phones via mobile applications.  Given the explosion of mobile internet and app use in the past few months/years, this was the next logical step in the progression of Open Graph.

Perhaps what’s most interesting about this announcement is the language used by Eric Tseng, Facebook’s Head of Mobile Products.  He said Facebook “really sees mobile as the future.”  With Facebook’s recent usage and cross-platform functionality explosions, it seems as though the overall digital landscape will be largely influenced by moves made by Facebook.  Mobile sites and applications will soon be able to take advantage of this new social functionality.

Let’s take Foursquare or Yelp for example; Many of us are used to checking in or reading reviews on this type of mobile app.  When Facebook brings the Like Button to these apps, we’ll not only be able to check into these locations on Foursquare, we’ll be able to see which of our Facebook friends have liked that venue.  We’ll be able to read reviews or see Likes from those same friends from a nearby restaurant on Yelp or Urbanspoon as well.  Sure, we have “friends” on these applications already, but the potential is much greater with the bucket of hundreds of my Facebook friends than it is with the 15 or 20 close friends I have on Foursquare.

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Over the last few days, there has been a great deal of talk surrounding Facebook’s immanent “check-in” to the geolocation space.  Sources close to Facebook have admitted that users will soon have the ability to tag their location within their status updates.  So, is this feature a direct threat to location-based applications like Foursquare and Gowalla?  Probably.  But… maybe not.

It appears that Facebook will be launching its location service in the form of a custom application for McDonalds.  What’s interesting about the discussion surrounding the McDonalds example is the speculation of how Facebook will monetize this feature – especially since it is launching with one of the world’s largest advertisers.  Initial signs point to Facebook not making money from the actual application or functionality, but from an associated media buy.  A lot of the impact Foursquare and Gowalla will feel from this move will be determined by just how “local” Facebook decides to go.  If Facebook allows every mom and pop under the sun with a Facebook page to create a “Place” for their business, Foursquare and Gowalla could be in trouble.  After all, a majority of the locations in those apps are user created and not part of huge national/multinational chains.  If, however, Facebook decides to keep the locations to major partner chains as an incentive for media buys, the current location players may be ok.

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Typically, the next “big thing” in the digital world generates new users much faster than it generates profits.  If savvy marketers take advantage of the opportunity Foursquare provides, the fast growing social app may prove an exception.

If you’re not familiar with Foursquare, members use their phones to “check in” when they visit various locations.  By doing so, their Twitter and/or Facebook accounts are updated with their location, and they accumulate points and badges which can be used in a variety of ways.

What Foursquare represents to retailers is the opportunity to track when and how often customers visit them, as well as what other activities they combine with those trips.  Who wouldn’t want to know the days of the week, peak times, etc. that their most loyal customers visit…or reward them for their loyalty?

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