In its first report on the use of “geosocial” or location-based services, the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life project finds that 4% of online adults use a service such as Foursquare or Gowalla that allows them to share their location with friends and to find others who are nearby. On any given day, 1% of internet users are using these services.
Location-based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla use internet-connected mobile devices' geolocation capabilities to let users notify others of their locations by “checking in” to that location. Location-based services often run on stand-alone software applications, or “apps,” on most major GPS-enabled smartphones or other devices.
Key findings include:
Read the full report Four Percent of Online Americans Use Location-Based Services on the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project Web site.