As we look towards 2011, we found ourselves reflecting on some of the most informative (and our favorite) events from last year.
Last February, Social Media Week & Wired.com hosted a conversation that explored the role of location-based services and initiatives in the present time looking toward the future of social media. Moderated by John C. Abell, New York Bureau Chief for Wired.com, “The Future of Space & Time,” featured Dennis Crowley, Founder and CEO of Foursquare; Chris Dixon, Co-founder, CEO at Hunch; Tony Jebara, Associate Professor Computer Science, Columbia University & Chief Scientist at Sense Networks.
The hour-long panel discussion examined the opt-in nature of today’s most popular geo-location based services, and the increasing percentage of population who are using social media services such as Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp and Hunch to inform their daily decisions, from where to go, to what to eat. Chris Dixon divided audiences into two groups: “techies,” – early adopters of new technology, and “normals,” who are more mainstream individuals. The adoption of location-based social media services within larger, more mass-consumption audiences rely on an opt-in, user-identified utility and/or necessity – what often begins as a fun gadget or new toy can result in a complete shift, as these location-based tools & functionalities become indispensable.