LBS Theme day Feest.je

By Thomas Vente on 29 April 2011

For Esther’s research about location-based service, she decided to invite Dennis from Feest.je to come talk about location-based services and their own product in particular. 

What is Feest.je?
Feest.je is the Dutch equivalent of Foursquare: a location-based social network that brings people together at spots & events. Users can check in, earn rewards, discover new spots & events, party with friends and meet new people.

Dennis started off giving some basic information about LBS, just a small introduction about what a Location-Based Service is and where it all started. The first location-based service as we know it today (Foursquare eg.) started in Japan as a service provided by one of the largest mobile providers in the country. Because the technology of phones has evolved extremely since then, these services now have the ability to be more precise at a lower cost. Since most smartphones are now equipped with GPS, providers no longer play a mayor part in locating a user. This has made it more accessible for independent companies as Foursquare and Feest.je

Location-based services come in many forms and not just as a location-based social network. Products like Shopkick do something different with the same location, they do not focus on the social part but more on couponing. The only thing you need to do to collect your bonuses is to walk into a store and collect your “kickbucks”, those will give you a discount where and when you want it on a product that’s relevant for you and maybe not for someone else at that given time and location. It gives you a personal discount. 

Another example of a location-based service is Life360. This is a security product for you and your family. It is possible for you to see where your family members are at all times and what the threats in their area are. If you have a smartphone it’s free to use, but if you would like to know where your kids are and they don’t have a smartphone you can order GPS receivers for $99,- and you will have to pay a monthly fee of $10,- per receiver. This is one of the very few location-based services that is not completely free for the en¬d user.

Why the location check-in?
One of the most well known reasons for check-ins on location is the social connection and sharing experience. You check-in on location to let others know where you are and you can even share your experience of this location with them.

Game Dynamics
The second reason for check-ins is the game dynamics most location-based services have. You check-in on location earn points for new or multiple places and collect badges that you can share with your friends. These game dynamics should motivate you to explore new places but also to follow certain routes and road trips that can earn you extra points. One location-based service that does this very well is Gowalla. For example: Gowalla gives badges for check-ins at different hotspots in Las Vegas, but if go to all of them you will get an extra badge stating you have seen all the best spots of Las Vegas.

Personal Diary
The third reason for users to check-in on location is the personal diary feature. Almost every location-based service gives you the possibility to see where you have been. Some might even call it a lazy diary. A fun add-on to this function is wheredoyougo.net. As soon as you authorise them to access your Foursquare account, the site will create your own personal heat map of all your check-ins. 

Last but not least is the probably the most obvious one. Users use a location-based service to get deals, discounts and coupons. Most of these deals should motivate you not only to explore new places but to come back to you favourite places and get a discount for being a loyal customer to this bar or retailer.

Future of LBS

Check-in standardisation
One of the first changes that will probably take place is the standardisation of the checkin format. This will make check-ins more exchangeable between LBS clients such as Foursquare. The thought behind this is that everyone can use their client of choice, and still see all the check-ins of friends using a different client. This will also make it easier for developers to link between different clients instead of using API’s to connect to one another. This standardisation will make it possible to create niche specific LBS clients and still be connected to the “big LBS network” at the same time.

Where should I go?
The question will no longer be: “Where are my friends now?” but “Where should I go?”. “Where should I go to get great coffee?”, “Where should I go to meet my friends?” etcetera. There are already some internet-based start-ups who try to answer those questions with user generated content. Yelp.com tries to help you to find the best spots to grab a sandwich or go to for dinner based on reviews of users who have been there before and have rated the place. The beauty of Yelp is that it is not limited to restaurants but there are even reviews of financial service branches who have the best customer service and the shortest lines in your neighbourhood.

Opportunities for small businesses
Big companies like Unilever or Heineken have the means to create their own LBS, small businesses do not. So the first interest for start-ups like Feest.je is to not only get end-users but also to get small businesses involved making the LBS platform more interesting for the end-user. For small businesses it gives them another relevantly cheap way to market their venues and it could give them insight into their customers checking in on location.

LBS Workshops
The day concluded with multiple workshops on location-based services to make Dennis’ lecture more practically relevant and to help Esther with her concept of a location-based service. The idea was to come-up with a location-based service with a reward system specific to the Lijnmarkt in Utrecht. To make it more interesting there was one extra rule, no discounts. The students were given the challenge to create a combination of mobile and local which would be useful for the small businesses located on the Lijnmarkt in Utrecht. They were given time to come up with an idea and work out graphical mock-ups in Photoshop. Finally they had to pitch their idea in two minutes to the rest of the students.

Overall it was a very useful day to gain insight about location-based services from someone who works with a product like that every day. The workshops were also very useful to see the students use the explained theories to form their own idea of a successful location-based service. There where some very good results which I am sure will return in Esther’s research report.

tagged with: business opportunities, feest.je, location based services, workshop

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