With social media week well and truly underway all around the world, we thought it would be appropriate to explore recent social media technology which has really spilt opinion… location-based services (LBS). Not everyone is totally convinced by this new ‘check-in’ craze and it’s interesting that 31 per cent of people don’t even know what checking-in is. Is there any value to LBS or are we creating cool new technologies for the sake of it?
Facebook Places is now quite a commonly used feature and sometimes people wonder, what’s the point? But there are actually some really useful apps currently available such as those that can help you find your way when you’re lost or those that show you where the nearest cash point or toilet is within a one mile radius; Around Me, Addison Lee and Odeon to name but a few.
It’s safe to say that many companies are jumping on board the LBS love boat and incorporating this technology into their apps, but it’s particularly interesting to reflect on how this has been done in healthcare. Quite recently, as part of their fight against HIV, AIDS and STIs, MTV Staying Alive developed an app called iCondom, which in essence is a condom distribution map. The app allows users to upload information on where they can access condoms nearby. Handy!
Though not healthcare related, we’ve also stumbled across this new gaming app currently in development in the States called Foursquaropoly. It combines Foursquare (another well know LBS) and Monopoly by pulling information from Foursquare and giving players the ability to buy and sell properties as well as collect rent from other people who check into their properties. It’s definitely a pretty innovative way of bringing to life the whole ‘check-in thing’.
Many people don’t value LBS and, at the moment, it doesn’t seem that its real worth has been established in healthcare communications. We now live in a world where pretty much everything is striving towards being online, interactive and personalised to you. Maybe it’s time for healthcare to embrace the potential before we can genuinely evaluate its potential?
