This basically explains why I am apathetic about foursquare. I used to do a lot of stuff with the Fire-eagle team (who still have a really solid geo platform).

This basically explains why I am apathetic about foursquare. I used to do a lot of stuff with the Fire-eagle team (who still have a really solid geo platform). However the real barrier to this stuff being really useful is the frequency and granularity of updates. The thing that geo-location brings, the thing that we really want is serendipity. It massively increases the chance of meeting a friend while out because your devices know you are a block (or a foot) away even if you don't. This means that our ability to encounter serendipity is exponentially increased because it's no longer limited by our senses or memories. Dodgeball would introduce friends of friends, for example. The problem remains, until geo-location is automatic and effortless the cost and frequency of updates belies the effort.