It caught fire across the globe. Brands in Europe had huge success stories using geolocation campaigns. Israel loved it. Africa dug it. South America even got in on the act. But for some reason, U.S. social media users and consumers never really warmed up to social media geolocation. Now a recent study has everybody wondering why nobody in the States wants to play Foursquare.
The PEW Internet and American Life Project released a survey last week which found that most Americans aren’t terribly thrilled in sharing thereabouts with their friends on social media.
“Americans are not currently all that eager to share explicitly their location on social media sites,” said Kathryn Zickuhr, co-author of the report. Twenty-three percent of Americans do use geolocation applications to find movies or get dining or shopping recommendations, but apparently the fascination ends there: Only 4 percent of Americans surveyed use their phones to share their locations via check-ins. So what gives?
We’re no experts here, but perhaps check-in fever just peaked too soon. Brands hopped all over Godwalla and Foursquare when they first appeared on the scene, and by the time Facebook Places showed up, the whole platform seemed exhausted. While Nike and Coca-Cola continue to have successful and edgy location-based campaigns overseas, America could care less. Experts speculate that the disinterest could in fact be part of a larger social media burn out.
But let’s hear from you, our smarty pants readers. Why hasn’t the U.S. taken to social location services? Tell us where it’s at in the comments section below!
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