Location-based services come with benefits, caution flags

Mary Morelli has never run for political office but she knows all about the perks and pratfalls of being a mayor.

The James Island woman is an avid user of Foursquare, one of a number of location-based social networks that allows smartphone and laptop users to "check in" to businesses and events in exchange for discounts and rewards.

Mary Morelli 'checks in' on Foursquare using her cell phone while at Barnes and Noble on Wednesday.

In Foursquare, the best discounts go to "mayors" – the person who checks in the most during the past 60 days. During the summer, Morelli and another user battled back and forth over mayorship of a North Charleston Starbucks so they could claim the $1 discount on coffee.

"To keep it you have to keep checking in," Morelli said.

Anyone with a Facebook page or a Twitter feed has seen an increase in number of posts and maps showing exactly where the user is – and in some ways where they're not. And while businesses see potential in the small but growing number of geolocation service users, law enforcement officers see a potential for crime if the technology isn't used carefully.

Law enforcement agencies across the country have tied home burglaries to the victim posting their location on their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. Charleston County agencies say they haven't seen it here yet, but they caution against over-sharing.

Mount Pleasant Police Sgt. Chip Googe has been using Foursquare for more than a year. He's met dozens of people he never would have met otherwise, but he's also seen a lot of over-sharing.

He cautions users to know who their "friends" are and suggests they not check in from home, at their relatives' homes or their children's schools.

"To me, that's troublesome when people see you're not home," Googe said. "They know where to go."

He prefers to check in as he's leaving, as opposed to when he arrives and notes that users can choose to keep check ins a secret if they want. Earlier this year a website called http://pleaserobme.com/ started posting tweets in which twitter users posted their location. The site recently has stopped posting the updates, but its original message remains: "If you don't want your information to show up everywhere, don't over-share."

Most users say they've already weighed the pros and cons.

Jenna Brown, a nanny from Charleston, said she uses the service when she's by herself or with friends but never when she's working. "At work I have to be extremely careful because I'm responsible for other people's children," she said. "You can't risk it."

Katie Kozar of Charleston loved Foursquare "from a coupon-clipping perspective" but recently slowed her use because of unsolicited friend requests from people she doesn't know.

"After a little while the novelty starts to wear off," she said.

So far, geolocation services represent only a small share of social media services – the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life project recently found that only 4 percent of online adults use location-based services – but users and experts predict the service will grow as more and more companies buy in. And they are. Facebook in August started a similar service called "Facebook Places" and Gowalla this week announced a deal with Disney Parks.

"It starts as a gimmick but there's money involved," said Doug Ferguson, a professor of communication who teaches a social media graduate course at the College of Charleston. "If companies want that business they need to be on these sites. Then someone is going to make a lot of money."

Steve Rudnicki of Summerville said the service is especially useful when traveling. Foursquare tells you what businesses are nearby and what deals they have that aren't advertised anywhere else.

"It's just nice to know there are these hidden specials," he said.

Holly Fisher is an account executive for Step Ahead Inc., a Charleston public relations agency that develops and manages social media campaigns for businesses. The agency recently signed up a client for Foursquare and has seen immediate results. Dine With Sal Restaurant Group started offering free drinks to anyone who checks in using Foursquare. Mayors get a free appetizer. Since offering the incentives in August, the number of check-ins have gone up 88 percent, Fisher said.

"It's just a great way to reward frequent customers and encourage them to come back," Fisher said.

Another client, the Charleston Parks Conservancy, uses the "tip" function of Foursquare to inform users about upcoming events and how to become a volunteer.

She compared Foursquare to the old-fashioned punch card that businesses such as sandwich shops and coffee shops use to reward customers for being return customers.

"It's the same type of rewards program but technologically more savvy," she said.

Brown said it can be kind of creepy sometimes, such as the time she checked in at a polling site to vote and realized several other people she didn't know had checked in at the same time. Taking a few extra steps to secure her safety is worth it, she said.

"I don't want to look back and say, 'What was I thinking?' " Brown said. "I rather just be extremely paranoid now and make sure everyone is safe than to risk it."