Google Validates Locle with Latitude

1 Comment »  February 4th, 2009  in News

Google today announced the release of Google Latitude, their effort at a location-based mobile “friend-finder”.   Google’s entry into the space validates Locle’s business model, that location-based advertising will have a significantly higher CPM value than traditional online advertising.

Google’s launch version of Latitude does not bring anything significantly new to the mobile friend-finder space, with well-established players such as Locle, Nulaz, Belysio, Rummble, Aka-Aki, BrightKite and Loopt (http://bdnooz.com/lbsn-location-based-social-networking-links/). 

Google seems to be forgetting their own message, that location is a commodity (thanks to their own geoLocation API).   A compelling mobile friend-finder application needs more than to show where friends are.

Google’s announced mobile platform support will cover about 30% of the mobile phones in the market today.  They have some catching up to do with Locle’s 70% market support.

Google Latitude is being released as YASN (yet another social network) with no support of external social networks and communities.

However, Googles established install base of Google Maps for Mobile will give everyone a run for their money.

But should Google be getting into the “buddy finder” software business.  Their mission is to sell more advertising.  They should be focused on providing the tools and technologies to established companies to drive more location-based, mobile and social traffic that can be monitized with Google’s AdWords machine.

http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/02/locate-your-friends-in-real-time-with.html

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/see-where-your-friends-are-with-google.html

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One Response to “Google Validates Locle with Latitude”

  1. David Petherick Says:
    February 7th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    Thanks for the comment on The Next Web.

    Google is an 800-pound-gorilla standing next to you and every other player in the friend-finder space.

    You’d best decide how to deal with that before it crushes you, sits on you, or just blocks your daylight. This is just an upgrade to Google Maps – but what an upgrade. Next one will have messaging, and then the advertisers get to pay for location-based category and ‘proximity pulse’ offers.

    Telling it to stick to its knitting with advertising isn’t going to cut it. It’s Google. You better get some bananas, and comfortable with that Gorilla in the room!

    Regards, David

    The Next Web: Ten Reasons why Google Latitude will succeed – http://thenextweb.com/2009/02/05/ten-reasons-google-latitude-succeed/