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Facebook announces a new way of communicating a users location, that will allow their current location to be seen by their friends. This new measure will increase the marketing possibilities for businesses and give consumers more localised information.
Location based social networks are springing up on on the web and Facebook wants to capitalise on this new phenomenon. There are already a number of social networks based solely on the users location. The "where are you now?" strapiline will soon be as common as "whats on your mind?"
Location based services will allow business to connect to consumers real time. Initially the location based services will allow a user to communicate with their friends, therefore allaying any fears of privacy that may arise. There has been increasing discussion about a user's privacy, given the amount of information facebook user's are making available in the public domain.
Given Facebooks 500 million users, they have the Scale make this service a hit from the outset. The Facebook iphone app will be a key driver of location based service that is envisaged by Facebook's product managers -
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Web browser maker Opera topped the iPhone application download chart Within 24 hours of releasing its free browser app.
It has been downloaded 1,023,380 times since its launch on 14 April. It took three weeks for Apple to approve the program, which has already been developed for other mobile phone platforms.
An app has to be written especially for a particular phone to offer a high quality experience. On many mobiles the browser provided with the phone is the only choice someone has.
Opera has not developed a separate app for the iPad but says the iPhone program will also work on Apple's new device. Opera's business model is similar to that of a traditional search engine, with revenue coming from affiliate deals and advertising rather than from the user.
Since the mobile app market is booming more and more developers are looking to develop businesses centred around marketing. -
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A team of software engineers has created an iPhone application that allows members of the public to report the presence of oil from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. The Oil Reporter application, which is also available for mobile phones running Google's Android operating system, provides phone numbers on where to report oiled beaches.
"Oil Reporter" was developed by Crisis Commons, a volunteer network of technical and industry professionals which has also created tools to help with relief efforts following the Haiti earthquake.
"Oil Reporter enables people to help with the recovery effort by using real-time check-ins to report what they're seeing on the ground," CrisisCommons said."Users can upload photos and videos, report oil sightings, harmed wildlife sightings and much more," CrisisCommons said in a statement.
Crisis Commons, which has alao set up a website said the data collected using the application will be mapped and managed by San Diego State University's data Center.
BP was attempting to plug the well on Thursday as new data showed it was the worst oil spill in US history, surpassing the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. BP has been in the firing line since early may 2010, due to its inability to contain the leaking well. BP has managed to stem the flow but not reduce the flow to zero, the environmental damaged may take years to clean up and the costs are now running into billions of dollars. -