PCWorld: Will Location-based Ads Become A Mobile Scourge?
PCWorld’s “tech inciter” David Coursey looks at location-based mobile apps such as Foursquare and wonders what kind of impact they might have once they become ubiquitous.
“Foursquare and other location-based applications are a great idea, but commercializing them may be a challenge. Key will be making them minimally intrusive and maximally useful, as well as avoiding the nightmare scenario of a world totally engulfed in personalized, located-based ads.
The South-by-Southwest (SXSW) festival this week in Austin has provided a platform for Foursquare to demonstrate its social networking application, in which users give their friends permission to see their whereabouts after they “check-in” at specific locations.”