i checked-in and all I got was this lousy blog post

During a recent vacation to Seattle, L.A. and Tahoe to visit family a friends I decided to experiment with the top L.B.S applications (location-based services) a.k.a "check-in apps" and conduct unscientific research on my non-tech savvy family and friends to explore how my perception of the services meshes with reality. Being an avid reader of technology and emerging media tweets, blogs, rants, raves, articles, etc., etc., it's very difficult to filter perception from reality. I thought this would be a good opportunity to do so.

The check-in apps I used:

• foursquare
• SCVNGR
• Yelp
• Facebook Places
• Gowalla

Realities:

Working in technology and living in Manhattan (where foursquare started) increases the likelihood that you'll know the word 'check-in' isn't just related to flying or ATM machines.

Living in Manhattan makes one more apt to know what foursquare is, period.

Foursquare is a powerhouse brand, not a powerhouse app (yet).

SCVNGR is not "cool" but it's well designed and kind of fun.

Yelp is highly integrated with other useful features, i.e. restaurant reviews and locations.

Gowalla..I mean the name kind of speaks for itself - I'll be nice and just say it has an uphill battle.

Facebook Places is, well, integrated with Facebook.

Checking-in is a feature. It won't survive as a stand-alone platform. I don't want to open up another app just for the sake of checking-in somewhere. I want to go to Facebook where I can check-in, chat, update status, upload pics, tweet...all-in-one.

The bottom line is the space is saturated and they all have an uphill battle against Facebook. In order to go mass, they must come to market with highly integrated and valuable loyalty reward offers and useful features. In two years one of these guys will have made sure that the paper card you get stamped at your favorite sandwich shop for a free item on your next visit, is extinct.

The first app that I expect to lose is Gowalla. Foursquare can survive for a bit longer on its brand while it builds a more dynamic platform. Yelp can survive because it has an entirely separate core business. SCVNGR can survive because they have Google $ and they seem to have a firm grasp on client services, making it easy for merchants to create and manage programs.

May the best app win.