It’s that time of the year again. Time to take a look back at the year that defined mobile marketing and location-based apps. You could almost call 2010 the year of the check-in or the year that checkins went mainstream. Regardless the 2009 technology predictions were true. 2010 was all about location, location, location. Here’s a look back a the top 143 location articles from 2010.
Apple
Apple Launches its Own Check-in Service
Brightkite
Social Network Brightkite Axes Check-Ins to Focus on Group Texting
Helping solve check-in fatigue, Check.In updates adds @TriOut and @Whrrl.
Universal Check-in App Confirmed: Brightkite’s Stealth Service
CauseWorld
CauseWorld: Checking in for Charity
Facebook Announces “Deals” Program: Is This The Death Knell of Groupon And Foursquare?
Facebook to Launch Local Shopping Deals With Check-ins; Look Out Groupon
Introducing Gowalla U
Facebook’s Location Feature Gets More Hands on Deck With Acquisition of Ex-Googler Startup NextStop
Facebook Tests “Presence”, RFID Location at F8 Conference
Facebook Partnering With Gowalla And Foursquare For Places
Confirmed Hot Potato: Yup, Facebook Bought ‘Em, Will Soon Shut Them Down
Foodspotting
Foodspotting & Zagat Partner to Share Restaurant Photos and Guides
Foodspotting Upgrades Its App To Include Celeb Chef Guides, Real-World Rewards (INFOGRAPHIC, VIDEO)
Foursquare:
Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley Is On The Cover Of Wired U.K.
Foursquare Checks In On The Las Vegas Strip
Foursquare and Starbucks Team Up to Offer Customer Rewards
Foursquare Checks In For Charity (2009 but used a lot in 2010)
Foursquare Surpasses 5 Million Users
Foursquare Down for Nine Hours and Counting
Harvard Teams Up With Foursquare For Collegiate Check-Ins
Foursquare Makes it Easy for Businesses to Sign Up
Foursquare Founders Strike a Pose in New Gap Ad
Foursquare Partnership Paves Way for TV Series
Gap Wants You to “Add to Foursquare” in New Online Ad Campaign
Foursquare and MTV Team up for First-Ever Cause-Related Badge: STD …
The New York Times and Foursquare Partner for the Olympics
Foursquare Goes To School With 20 University Partnerships
Twitter and Foursquare Become the New Loyalty Program at Tasti D-Lite
MTV Teams Up with Foursquare for VMAs
15-Year-Old Foursquare User First to Check in at the North Pole
Bravo Testing Foursquare Badge Rewards with Sephora
Foursquare Enthusiasts Race to Check In at the North Pole
The Wall Street Journal Partners with Foursquare
Whole Foods to Feature Foursquare Window Clings
Foursquare Gets Mainstream Exposure on “The Today Show”
MTV And VH1 Strike Deal With Foursquare | PerezHilton.com
VH1 Promotes Foursquare in New Ad [VIDEO]
McDonald’s Foursquare Day Campaign Increased Checkins by 33%
Sorry, But McDonald’s Did Not See a 33% Increase in Foot Traffic Because of Foursquare
Non-Profit Creates Foursquare Venues for Homelessness Awareness
“Foursquare Cops” Web Show Catches Checkin Cheaters in the Act [VIDEO]
Foursquare has a grader too! Measure Your @Foursquare Mojo with …
Reggie Bush Uses Foursquare and Stickybits for Football Scavenger Hunt
Foursquare Partnership Seeks to Reinvent Grocery Store Loyalty Program
Astronaut Checks in to Foursquare from Outer Space
Guy becomes Foursquare mayor, gets free sandwiches for a year
Foursquare Introduces New Tools for Businesses – NYTimes.com’
Gap Offers 25% Discount for Foursquare Checkins
Starbucks Using Foursquare For Customer Rewards Program
Bravo TV Teams With Foursquare, Report Says
“I Voted”: A truly important Foursquare badge, for Election Day
Google Launches ‘Places’ to Increase Local Business Exposure
Google Executive Marissa Mayer Takes New Role in Location, Local Services
Trailblazing in Portland
Google Launches Hotpot, A Recommendation Engine for Places
Google Rolls Out Ad Tags Nationwide
Official Google Latitude iPhone app returns to the Store
Gowalla
Go Out with Gowalla…and Incase!
Check In with the Nets!
Gowalla Goes to the Polls!
Win the New Incase Item: Perforated Snap Case
A Russian Billionaire, Jay-Z, And Gowalla Loom Large Over New York
Go with Disney on Gowalla
Gowalla Keeps Innovating – Invents Private Geo Messaging
Gowalla launches an API, awaits creative developers
Gowalla 3.0: One Check-In to Rule Them All
USA TODAY and Gowalla Team Up for Summer Travel Fun
Loopt
Virgin America Rides Loopt Taco Truck Special To Fifth Largest Revenue Day Ever
Loopt Star Running Nationwide Sports Authority Promotion
MyTown
Booyah! MyTown hits 1 million users before Foursquare or Gowalla
Powermat Charges Up Promotion Through MyTown
MyTown gets users to barcode scan over 250,000 shampoo bottles
SCVNGR
SCVNGR Adds a Refreshing Twist to Holiday Shopping, Launches Nationwide Campaign with Coca-Cola®
SCVNGR Goes Global and Becomes the First Service to Use Google’s Places API
ShopKick
Shopkick Brings Real-World Incentives to the Check-in Game
TopGuest
Topguest launches mobile apps for earning exclusive rewards and travel perks through check-ins
Checkins Starting to Pay Off? Topguest Nabs World’s 2nd Largest Hotel Chain
Sick of Useless Badges and Mayorships? Topguest Makes Check-ins Meaningful
TriOut
TriOut launches API along with a new HTML5 check-in web app for Android and iPhone users
TriOut check-in contest with Empire Eats
Golden Coral TriOut 50% off
Eat Free at Golden Coral
NC State Fair QR Code Scavenger Hunt
Is TriOut a Geo Model for All Local Media Companies?
TriOut v2 is open to the world… and foursquare
Twitter Joins The Place Race — Foursquare, Gowalla Come Along For The Ride
Twitter Places API Gains New Data Partners
WeReward
Foursquare with Cash Rewards? WeReward Wants to Pay you for Check-ins
congratulations emily!
Whrrl
Whrrl Partners with USA WEEKEND to Offer Readers In-Store Tips, Recommendations & Prizes from Top Brands
See Whrrl on the big screens in the City of Lights
We’re on the home page of USAWeekend.com today!
Whrrl Gets Results for Murphy USA
Yelp
Yelp Begins Offering Local Deals
Yelp updates with check-ins, Foursquare not happy
Yelp Challenges Foursquare, Adds Checkins to iPhone App
Yelp Goes Head-to-Head with Foursquare, Adds Badges & Royal Hierarchy
SXSW Location Wars
Foursquare vs. Gowalla: Inside the Check-In Wars
Geowars…Really?
foursquare launches SXSW Badges
Foursquare And Gowalla In A Dead Heat In The Location War
Gowalla and Chevy Team Up At SXSW
Foursquare, Gowalla Get the SxSW Bump
The Location-Based Wars Rage On: Gowalla Adds Comments, Photos & More
Foursquare vs. Gowalla: Location-Based Throwdown
Vicarious.ly: SimpleGeo’s One Location-Based Stream To Visualize Them All
Marketing
Are FourSquare and Gowalla Just Shiny Objects?
How Geolocation Technology is Changing the World
Restaurant Uses Foursquare and a Boat to Hit Sales Record
What location services can do for your business – with examples
Location-Based Cola Wars: Pepsi, Coke, Foursquare and SCVNGR
21 Unique Location Examples from Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, and MyTown
Privacy
How TriOut handles privacy and what you need to know about check-ins
Are We All Asking to Be Robbed?
Robbers Checked Facebook Status Updates To See When People Weren’t Home
Please Rob Me Makes Foursquare Super Useful For Burglars
The books:
Location Based Marketing – We Are Just the Dummies
Checked-In: How To Use Gowalla, Foursquare and Other Geo-Location Applications For Fun and Profit
foursquare How To Boot Camp: The Fast and Easy Way to Learn the Basics with World Class Experts Proven Tactics, Techniques, Facts, Hints, Tips and Advice
Social Location Marketing: Outshining Your Competitors on Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp & Other Location Sharing Sites
infographics
9 location-based infographics showing how and why the mobile world is checking in
7 Awesome Foursquare infographics showing how users are collecting badges and checking in.
Infographic: How Check-Ins Work in Location-Based Apps
Other:
The CarZar Launches at Paris Motor Show: World’s First Location-Based Social Automotive App
The unofficial check-in guidelines for using location-based services
A Location-based Marriage Proposal
Location-Based Dating Site Skout Hits 1 Million
SimpleGeo brings Context and Places APIs into public beta – makes them “free forever”
DoubleDutch: Build Your Own Check-In App For Your Event, Business or School
Groupon + Foursquare = GroupTabs, Group Deals for Check-Ins
Verizon Wireless announces location APIs, but not for webOS
Why Dave McClure is Wrong about LBS
Check-Ins are Coupons. Game Mechanics are Bullshit. Show Me The MONEY or Go Home (Loser).
Footfeed Jumps into the Check-in Aggregation Game
Waze Adds iOS4, Juices Up Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare
New GPS Satellites Will Help Apps Better Pinpoint Your Location
Location Services: Let the Battle Commence
The conferences and panels
GEOM
58 GEO/Location-based panels submitted for SXSW 2011 on check-ins, foursquare, augmented reality and more to vote for.
Location-Based Marketing Summit – September 29-30 – New York City
Geo-Loco: the next big thing in advertising, social media and discovery!
The Location Marketing Reports
Location-Based Social Networks: A Hint Of Mobile Engagement Emerges
The Data Digest: Who Uses Location-Based Services?
4% of online Americans use location-based services
Two-Thirds of iPhone Users Now Use Location-Based Services at Least Once a Week
90% of businesses would not pay to be on Foursquare. So what now?
Agency Survey: Brands Are Turning To Mobile, But Still Little Interest In LBS And None In iAd
Sources:
ReadWriteWeb
Mashable
Techcrunch
SocialFresh
HubSpot
SocialWayne.com
and then some.
What was the biggest location news of 2010 to you?
