Joel Liu's Library tagged LBS →  View Popular, Search in Google

　　日前，嘀咕网和街旁网都向商家推出了类似淘宝经营平台的功能，允许线下商铺免费在LBS平台上经营、管理自己的电子商铺，这被视为是LBS对盈利模式尝试的一种探索。新浪微领地产品总监苗林表示，对LBS服务商来说，用户数和用户活跃度是考察的关键指标。形成规模优势的LBS要通过搜索排序、周边商家推荐及位置广告等服务获得赢利。但是在未累积大量活跃用户的情况下，目前其他都是空谈。

  

　　对盈利模式，李松则认为，“目前大的LBS服务商主要聚焦于用户而不是商家，互联网发展的历史证明，一种服务在形成用户规模后，就不必担心商业模式问题。预计LBS想要实现大规模盈利，至少需两到三年。”

  

　　开开CEO穆荣还向记者介绍了产品情况，“开开目前仍处于打磨产品阶段，尚未实现收支平衡。此外，公司在与线下商家进行沟通时发现，LBS服务对于文艺类场所，如书店、旅游景点、手工艺品店等具有较强的吸引力，而餐饮、零售等商家对服务的接受度普遍较低。”

While continually updating location apps like Loopt failed to catch on in a major way due to the earlier iPhone limitations, check-in based apps like Foursquare and Gowalla have gotten traction recently by getting around this limitation because they explicitly make a user check-in at a venue. The idea became so popular that in November of last year that Loopt pivoted away from implicit location, to this check-in model with version 2.0 of its app. Version 3.0 shift back a bit towards the implicit background location, but marries it with the check-in.

Fundamentally, this is what the new Google Latitude API is. It’s not a distributed geospatial platform that allows app developers to build robust location-aware apps. It’s not a location-aware game that you can check in to local businesses, find friends, and get coupons. It’s only concerned with presence.

While Geo startups like Foursquare, Gowalla, and even Twitter (and soon, Facebook?) are taking a social approach to local business listings, coupons, and offers, Google is approaching from the search side.

For $25 a month, local businesses can buy “tags” which will turn up their listings in local searches, including on Google maps. They can print out custom QR codes (2D barcodes) which are readable by cell phones with cameras and QR readers and will pop up a mobile version of their Google Place page or a mobile coupon.

So if you stumble on what looks to be a good deal today, inform you friends and have them help you decide using the website or the accompanying free iPhone app (iTunes link), if you’re into the whole social shopping thing.

 

Do you have an Android-powered phone? Check out the startup’s augmented reality application, which shows you what others have purchased in the stores you visit.

 

JustBought.it is an initiative from Adarsh Pallian, who has in the past started other projects related to Twitter such as Tweetizen and Chart.ly. It was first launched a couple of months ago, but just recently relaunched with a new design and some additional features.

Participating in the panel were:
 Matt Galligan, co-Founder of SimpleGeo
 Ryan Sarver, Director of Platform at Twitter
 Tristan Walker, VP of Business Development at Foursquare
 Steve Lee, Group Product Manager Google Maps for Mobile and Google Latitude
 Justin Shaffer, Founder of Hot Potato
 Elad Gil, CEO of Mixer Labs
 Moderators were our own Erick Schonfeld and MG Siegler.