I just finished reading an interesting post by Dave Allen called The Problem with Location Technology is Us. This is a good discussion of the pros/cons of LBS services and as an early adopter of Foursquare, Gowalla etc., I can see why they have not been roundly adopted by the general populace.  Besides the real privacy concerns (read this interesting article from the Guardian UK about a reporter who stalked a woman he’d never met through her 4sq checkins), there doesn’t seem to be a compelling justification for using it...at least not yet.

The funny thing is that it used to be that brands would be one of the last adopters of new technologies...and social media is a prime example. It was only last year we were having to justify every dollar spent on Twitter or Facebook, whereas now there is a rush to participate, and although metrics are important, they are not paramount to execution.  I remember saying the new meaning for ROI was not return on investment (because positive financial gain could not be proven) but risk of ignorance (because by not participating an intangible negative value could be proven).

Now it seems brands feel like once burned, twice shy. And there is a rush to be the first to latch on the the next big thing.

I was quite surprised at French Connection using ChatRoulette within the first few months of that rather unconventional product launch. And big brands, such as Hotels.com and Stella Artois, have already jumped on the Augmented Reality bandwagon. Not to mention, Pepsi has signed up to use Sticky Bits which is a very new company that turns barcodes into threaded conversations around objects....how’s that for edgy?

However,  I believe LBS services, in particular, will  provide tangible ROI as mainstream adoption grows,  and I think that is inevitable as rewards and premiums will drive user adoption. With the ability to offer promotions for checkins  from any brand type--  whether clothing, dining, electronics,  or travel  (Gap just offered 25% to anyone checking into any Gap store across the US for 1 day only) --combined with the increasing reliance on our mobile devices, it would seem to me it’s only a matter of time till we reach the well known tipping point for LBS.  And I think Shop Kick in particular with its ability to offer rewards for just walking into an establishment has huge potential.

As Clay Shirky says, “tools become socially interesting when they become technologically boring”. And once everyone’s friends are using these tools, the fear will subside and the rewards will drive adoption.