Facebook Places gets its official UK launch today, after a US launch last month, and rumours that Zuckerberg was testing it out here on a visit to London. Facebook Places is available from today via the iPhone application or via the mobile site touch.facebook.com. It’s a gradual roll-out, so although it starts today, it’ll take a few days to get around to everyone.
Facebook Places works like Foursquare, check in, and you’ll update everyone in your social network telling them where you are. One worry though, that’s been bandied around this morning, is that everyone has too many friends on Facebook, lots of them to even friends, meaning that users might be a little uncomfortable informing our bevvy of Facebook acquaintances, colleagues, and family, where we are via Facebook Places.
Facebook is making a big deal about privacy controls though. The release reads: “Privacy is really important for us – check-ins are defaulted to friends only (unless your master setting is everyone) and minors will not appear in posts or check-ins to anyone but friends, you can also always remove any check-in from your phone or on the web.”
You can control your Facebook Places settings via the web or your smartphone. Your friends can check you into a location if you’re with them and you’ve given them permission in your settings, and in the People Here Now section, which displays all places users in the same place as you, you can choose not to be displayed, although by default it will show you to other people in your location.
So, the big question now is, will you use Facebook Pages? If you’re a Foursquare user, which do you think is better, and will you be using both or switching to just one? Click and tell, or drop us a line in the comments…
As a foursquare user you can link the accounts (the Facebook Places API allows external services such as Foursquare to post to your Facebook account) so not sure that you have to “drop” foursquare at all. I think Gowalla also allows the same linking
Facebook Places gets its official UK launch today, after a US launch last month, and rumours that Zuckerberg was testing it out here on a visit to London. Facebook Places is available from today via the iPhone application or via the mobile site touch.facebook.com. It’s a gradual roll-out, so although it starts today, it’ll take a few days to get around to everyone.
