An Exploration of People's Use of Locative Media and The

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

An Exploration of People's Use of Locative Media and The Claiming Places: An Exploration of People’s Use of Locative Media and the Relationship to Sense of Place by Glen E. Farrelly A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Information University of Toronto © Copyright by Glen E. Farrelly 2017 Claiming Places: An Exploration of People’s Use of Locative Media and the Relationship to Sense of Place Glen E. Farrelly Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Information University of Toronto 2017 Abstract This dissertation explores the role of locative media in people’s place-making activities and sense of place. Sense of place is a human need that entails people’s meanings, memories, and feelings for a location. Recent technological and market developments have introduced powerful geographic information tools and place-related media. By identifying a user’s location, locative media deliver geographically relevant content that enable people to capture and preserve place information, virtually append it to space, and broadcast it to others. Despite locative media’s growing prominence, the influence on sense of place is not well understood. A major finding of this research is that use of locative media can contribute meaningfully to a person’s positive sense of place, including fostering existential connection. This study refutes scholarly and popular dismissals of the medium as only detracting from sense of place. Locative media was found to enable people to make spaces their own by offering geographic relevant information and experiences, recording and sharing place-related impressions, and presenting places in new and enjoyable ways, such as through defamiliarization and decommodification. This study demonstrates the importance of access to our hybrid spaces, unfettered by corporate restriction, to create meaningful place relationships. However, it was ii also found that locative media can distract from sense of place through the loss of serendipitous discovery. This study used qualitative field reports and semi-structured interviews with 22 people, predominantly from Ontario, Canada. Participants reported using 44 locative media applications in a variety of contexts and locations. Crawford’s urban counter dynamics (2012) and Bott’s sense of place work (2000) were employed as analytical frameworks. Methodologically, this study demonstrates the utility of Bott’s sense of place framework and provides an effective mix of methods for future studies. This research contributes to place theory and mobile media studies by examining the role of locative media in sense of place. From an information studies perspective, it offers evidence of the use and value of geographic relevance and vocality of information. Design guidelines are offered to aid the development of locative media to foster user engagement and conservation attitudes towards place. iii Acknowledgments The process to completion of a doctoral degree is legendarily herculean and, at times, sisyphean. I could not have made it through my odyssey were it not for the support and guidance of many people. First, I offer my utmost gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. David J. Phillips, and my advisory committee members, Dr. Lynne C. Howarth and Dr. Martha Ladly. Their invaluable and extensive knowledge, advice, and support provided me with the intellectual direction that made this dissertation possible from start to finish. I would also like to acknowledge the support I received from current and former University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information faculty and staff, specifically Christine Chan, Dr. Wendy Duff, Dr. Jenna Hartel, Laura Jentek, Dr. Seamus Ross, and Adriana Rossini. Their collective guidance enabled me to navigate academia and refine my scholarly skills. As well, my former professors at Royal Roads University, Dr. Michael Real and Dr. Phillip Vannini, helped inspire and shape my scholarly path. My peers in academia provided much needed camaraderie and advice, from my fellow cohort of Michael Jones, Rebecka Sheffield, Rhon Teruelle, and Stephanie Perrin to international colleagues Dr. Leighton Evans, Dr. Katina Michael, and Dr. Abhilash Nair. My work with Dr. Martha Ladly and her research lab at OCAD University expanded my skills through innovative digital media projects with a team of amazing fellow research assistants. I would also like to thank Stephen Fetter and Betsy Anderson at Emmanuel College for giving me opportunities to expand my pedagogical skills. I am indebted to the participants of my study who shared their time and experience. They eagerly gave a remarkable depth and range of experiences and offered a wealth of insight that took this research in new directions and forms the basis of this paper. Finally, I am eternally grateful to my family for their daily support. My wife, Jennifer, has aided this process in every way possible, from being an intellectual sounding board and thoughtful critic to being an emotional cheerleader and provider of therapeutic treats, it is no iv overstatement to say that I could not have done this without her. My daughter, Nora, provides endless laughter, joy, and curiosity that is a constant source of inspiration. This dissertation was supported by an Ethel W. Auster Scholarship for Doctoral Research and Social Science and Humanities Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship, 2010-2013. v Table of Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... xiii List of Appendices ....................................................................................................................... xiv Glossary .........................................................................................................................................xv Chapter 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1 1.1 Motivation and Purpose of the Study...................................................................................1 1.2 Background of Study ...........................................................................................................4 1.2.1 Fundamentals of sense of place ...............................................................................5 1.2.2 Fundamentals of locative media ..............................................................................6 1.3 Research Problem and Research Questions .........................................................................8 1.4 Research Approach ..............................................................................................................9 1.5 Significance of Study .........................................................................................................10 1.6 Dissertation Overview .......................................................................................................11 Chapter 2 Analytical Framework and Key Concepts ..............................................................13 2.1 Chapter Overview ..............................................................................................................13 2.2 Sense of Place Definition and Operationalization .............................................................13 2.2.1 The need to define sense of place ..........................................................................14 2.2.2 Foundational concepts of place and space .............................................................14 2.2.3 Concepts associated and conflated with sense of place .........................................15 2.2.4 Sense of place definition ........................................................................................17 2.2.5 Bott’s domains and items comprising sense of place ............................................19 2.3 Spatial Counter Dynamics .................................................................................................23 2.3.1 Collaboration..........................................................................................................24 2.3.2 Decommodification................................................................................................24 vi 2.3.3 Defamiliarization ...................................................................................................25 2.3.4 Refamiliarization....................................................................................................25 2.3.5 Familiarization .......................................................................................................26 2.4 Locative Media ..................................................................................................................26 2.4.1 Definition of locative media and mobile device ....................................................26 2.4.2 Use cases of locative media ...................................................................................28 2.4.3 Typology of locative media applications ...............................................................29 2.5 Guiding Principles – Critical Theory of Technology and Social Shaping Theory ............31 2.6 Chapter Conclusion ............................................................................................................33 Chapter 3 Review of the Literature ...........................................................................................34 3.1 Chapter Overview ..............................................................................................................34
Recommended publications
  • Developing Integrated Object-Oriented Conception of Geomarketing As a Tool for Promotion of Regional Sustainable Development: the Case Study of Ukraine
    Developing Integrated Object-Oriented Conception of Geomarketing as a Tool for Promotion of Regional Sustainable Development: The Case Study of Ukraine By Volodymyr M. Anderson RESEARCH PAPER 2004-7 Dr. Volodymyr M. Anderson Fulbright Scholar 2003-2004 US host university: University of Idaho, Department of Geography McClure Hall 203, Moscow, ID 83844-3021, phone: 208-885-6452 E-mail: [email protected] Home university: Odessa I.I.Mechnikov National University, Department of Economic and Social Geography 2, Shampanskyi provulok, 65058, Odessa, Ukraine E-mail: [email protected] Position: Associate Professor, Head of Laboratory of Regional Studies and GIS Abstract: In the paper we propose and discuss new vision of geomarketing as a tool for promotion of regional sustainable development. Integrated object-oriented conception of geomarketing was designed by adoption and elaboration of some new ideas and approaches, such as “place marketing”, “non-profit marketing”, “counter-marketing”, “collaborative spatial decision-making”, “endogenous regional development”, “regional sustainable development”, “public-private partnership”. We explore how geomarketing in such a comprehension may be implemented in business and public administration, regional development policy making on example of some Ukrainian firms, regional governments, and communities. The proposed geomarketing conception is based on integration of three different interpretations of geomarketing: 1) as a traditional marketing tool providing procedures of ‘geosegmentation’ and ‘geopositioning’ in market analysis; 2) as a marketing of places (placemarketing); 3) as a marketing of geographic knowledge and technologies helping to promote sustainable regional development. Such a complex approach foresees systematical empirical study of innovations and changes in these domains with the purpose to develop a general theory of geomarketing as a tool for promotion of sustainable development at local and regional levels.
    [Show full text]
  • Providence Outline Detailed
    Latest Tips & Tactics for Connecting with Social Shoppers Get Your Message to Your Market and Sell More Stuff presented by Irene Williams - [email protected] ! I. Introduction A. Once Upon a Time on Instagram: A Case Study 1. Actual Food Nashville - The story of how I happened upon a pop-up brunch, Haymakers (J Michaels new brand), and master barber TJ Klausing, and ultimately became a devoted customer of all of the above B. The Current State and Latest Stats of the Digital-Social-Mobile Marketplace 1. According to a recent L2 study (L2 is a business intelligence service that tracks the digital competence of brands), department stores are expected to grow 22 percent globally over the next five years, and one key to success is enhancing traditional retail campaigns with effective digital marketing strategies. 2. The numbers for social are huge. We all need to fish where the fish are, and clearly the fish are very social. Numbers below are reflect data from 1st and 2nd quarters 2014. a) Twitter: 271 million active users / 500 million Tweets sent daily / 78% mobile b) Facebook: 1.23 billion active users / 874 million mobile / 728 million daily / Avg 20 minutes per session c) Instagram: 182 million active users / 58 million pix per day d) Pinterest: 70+ million active users / 75% mobile / Avg. 14 minutes per session e) Google+: 400 million active users / Avg 3:46 minutes per session f) YouTube: 1 billion active users per month / 6 billion hours of video watched monthly g) LinkedIn: 300 million users h) Tumblr: 199.1 visitors globally per month / 69.1 million monthly in U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Geographia Polonica Vol. 93 No. 4 (2020), Challenges and Opportunities for Human Geography: a Few Remarks
    Geographia Polonica 2020, Volume 93, Issue 4, pp. 525-537 https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0184 INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES www.igipz.pan.pl www.geographiapolonica.pl CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: A FEW REMARKS* Vladimír Ira1,2 • René Matlovič1 1 Institute of Geography Slovak Academy of Sciences Štefánikova 49, 814 73 Bratislava: Slovakia e-mails: [email protected][email protected] 2 Department of Geography, Faculty of Education University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Jeronýmova 10, 371 15 České Budějovice: Czechia e-mail: [email protected] Abstract In the long-term development of human geography we can observe a tendency to combine ideas from an intra- disciplinary debate and those imported from outside the discipline. It is profoundly influenced by a number of impulses from the rapidly changing world. This paper provides a brief survey of challenges for human geography setting them within the context of paradigmatic development and economic, social, cultural, envi- ronmental, political, and technological changes. It briefly focuses on the debates of human geographers what their discipline could or should study in the near future and how it could be done. Part of the paper is devoted to a few reflections of authors from the Visegrad Four countries concentrating attention to further direction of human geography. Human geography is unlikely to be characterised by a mono-paradigm dominance in the next few decades, but a discussion on how to find a common base for the integration of paradigms in ge- ography is likely to continue. Changing hierarchical structures, significant modernization processes, as well as local, regional and global changes influencing space-time behavioural patterns of humans can be expected among the main sources of inspiration for the human geographic research.
    [Show full text]
  • Using Locative Social Media and Urban Cartographies to Identify and Locate Successful Urban Plazas
    Cities 64 (2017) 66–78 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cities journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cities Using locative social media and urban cartographies to identify and locate successful urban plazas Pablo Martí ⁎, Leticia Serrano-Estrada, Almudena Nolasco-Cirugeda University of Alicante, Building Sciences and Urbanism Department, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n., 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain. article info abstract Article history: Locative social media networks as open sources of data allow researchers and professionals to acknowledge Received 25 November 2016 which city places are preferred, used and livable. Following this hypothesis, this paper proposes a methodology Received in revised form 18 January 2017 to identify successful public spaces – plazas – through the location-based social media network Foursquare and to Accepted 18 February 2017 analyze their urban position using morphological and historical cartographies. Available online 24 February 2017 The overall methodology comprises three stages. First, the most important cities of the province of Alicante were fi Keywords: selected. Second, the most relevant plaza of each city was identi ed using data retrieved from the social network Public space Foursquare. Finally, the location of each plaza is analyzed in relation to the historic center and the main axes of the Plaza city. Possible correlations between their urban location and their vibrant character were subsequently identified. Square Two findings have emerged from this study: (a) a strong spatial relationship exists between the most successful Social networks plazas and the historic city center, which reinforces their traditional social character; and (b) all plazas share two Livable spaces similar traits, their location within the urban network and their proximity to the main axes of the city.
    [Show full text]
  • The Production of Agency in Locative Media Art Practice
    Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin Doctoral Applied Arts 2012-6 The Construction of Locative Situations: the Production of Agency in Locative Media Art Practice Conor McGarrigle Technological University Dublin Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/appadoc Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation McGarrigle, C. (2012) The Construction of Locative Situations: the Production of Agency in Locative Media Art Practice. Doctoral Thesis. Dublin, Technological University Dublin. doi:10.21427/D7D88Q This Theses, Ph.D is brought to you for free and open access by the Applied Arts at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License The Construction of Locative Situations: the production of agency in Locative Media art practice. Conor McGarrigle, BSc University College Dublin, MA National College of Art & Design Dublin. This Thesis is submitted to the Dublin Institute of Technology in Candidature for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media & Digital Media Centre June 2012 Supervised by: Dr. James Carswell, Head of Spatial Information Technologies Research, Digital Media Centre DIT. Mr. Martin McCabe, Lecturer School of Media, DIT & Teaching Fellow, GradCAM. Dr. Brian O'Neill, Head School of Media, DIT. Abstract This thesis is a practice led enquiry into Locative Media (LM) which argues that this emergent art practice has played an influential role in the shaping of locative technologies in their progression from new to everyday technologies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Möbius Strip of Market Spatiality: Mobilizing Transdisciplinary Dialogues Between CCT and the Marketing Mainstream
    The Möbius strip of market spatiality: mobilizing transdisciplinary dialogues between CCT and the marketing mainstream Item Type article Authors Coffin, Jack; email: [email protected]; Chatzidakis, Andreas Citation AMS Review, volume 11, issue 1-2, page 40-59 Publisher Springer US Rights Licence for this article: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/ Download date 01/10/2021 23:36:29 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/625146 AMS Review (2021) 11:40–59 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00191-8 THEORY/CONCEPTUAL The Möbius strip of market spatiality: mobilizing transdisciplinary dialogues between CCT and the marketing mainstream Jack Cofn1 · Andreas Chatzidakis2 Received: 17 February 2020 / Accepted: 25 November 2020 / Published online: 25 January 2021 © The Author(s) 2021 Abstract This paper develops the Möbius strip as an ‘ordering theory’ (Sandberg and Alvesson, 2020) that brings CCT studies into dialogue with mainstream marketing approaches. The aim is to work toward a transdisciplinary understanding of market spatiality, a topic that has become increasingly important for theorists and practitioners (Warnaby and Medway, 2013; Castilhos et al., 2016; Chatzidakis et al., 2018). Building on psychosocial interpretations of the Möbius strip as a ‘tactical’ way of thinking, a range of insights and ideas are organized along a single strip of theorization. This paper maps a continuous plane of logic between the concepts of space, place, emplacement, spatiality, implacement, and displacement. The potential applications of the Möbius strip are then demonstrated by showing how the transdisciplinary topic of ‘atmosphere’ can be theorized from multiple perspectives. The paper concludes by exploring how the Möbius strip might also be employed in other areas of marketing theory and practice, potentially generating further transdisciplinary conversations between CCT and the marketing mainstream.
    [Show full text]
  • A Framework for Spatial Interaction in Locative Media
    Proceedings of the 2006 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME06), Paris, France A Framework for Spatial Interaction in Locative Media A tau Tanaka Petra Gemeinboeck Sony Computer Science Laboratory Paris Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition 6 rue Amyot University of Sydney F-75005 Paris FRANCE NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA +33-1-4408-0512 +61-2-9351-3030 [email protected] p [email protected] ABSTRACT mediated and physical spaces [5]. This paper presents the concepts and techniques used in a Related work in the area of mobile music systems can be family of location based multimedia works. The paper has seen in the projects presented at international events like the three main sections: 1.) to describe the architecture of an Mobile Music Workshop series [11]. Recently, new fields of audio-visual hardware/software framework we have creative works known as locative media are gaining interest. developed for the realization of a series of locative media Work in this area is represented in research consortia such as artworks, 2.) to discuss the theoretical and conceptual Open PLAN [8], and in festivals such as PixelAche [13]. One underpinnings motivating the design of the technical of the themes for the 2006 edition of the International framework, and 3.) to elicit from this, fundamental issues Symposium of Electronic Art (ISEA 2006) is the Interactive and questions that can be generalized and applicable to the City [10]. growing practice of locative media. Recent artistic inteventions in the field of locative media include the annotation of the physical with virtual marks or Keywords narratives [14] or the revelation of patterns by tracing the Mobile music, urban fiction, locative media.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded on to a Spreadsheet
    Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies Special Issue – December 2016 Location Sharing Motivations of University Students Kemal Elciyar, Anadolu University, Turkey Abstract Location sharing-check in- contains both geographical and semantic information about the visited venues, in the form tags. Many social networks like Facebook, Twitter, İnstagram, allow people to share location but main feature of Swarm and Foursquare is that. There are many motivations have investigated for identifying location based services uses: inform each other, keep track of places, appear cool, get a reward etc. The aim of this study is examining user motivations of locations based services; Swarm and Foursquare. For this purpose, a survey has been applied to university students. Results suggest that location sharing applications supply user’s need of location based socialization. 98 Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies Special Issue – December 2016 Introduction Location sharing applications have not a long history in research. Location sharing-check in- contains both geographical and semantic information about the visited venues, in the form tags. Foursquare, Swarm etc. are location-based social network (LBSN) and allow people to share their physical location with members of their social network. İn addition, Swarm and Foursquare also have gaming features and enables people to leave geotagged messages attached to locations. Many social networks like Facebook, Twitter, İnstagram, allow people to share location but main feature of Swarm and Foursquare is that. Foursquare and Swarm which has released by same corp. is a mobile social networking application with gaming elements that is built around people’s check-ins. Unlike Foursquare Dodgeball used SMS to share location.
    [Show full text]
  • THE HYBRID FLÂNEUR: an Urban Experience Through the Game Pokémon GO
    FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL ARCHITECTURE COLLEGE Postgraduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning Research Line: City, Culture and Politics RACHEL BERRUTTI PEREIRA DA CUNHA THE HYBRID FLÂNEUR: An urban experience through the game Pokémon GO. ADVISOR Dra. Daniela Marzola Fialho Porto Alegre 2018 THE HYBRID FLÂNEUR: An urban experience through the game Pokémon GO. Dissertation presented as a requirement for obtaining the title of Master – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. (UFRGS) EXAMINING BOARD _____________________________________ PhD. Breno Maciel Souza Reis External Examiner from FABICO/UFRGS _____________________________________ Prof. PhD. Paulo Edison Belo Reyes PROPUR/UFRGS _____________________________________ Prof. PhD. César Bastos de Mattos Vieira PROPUR/UFRGS ____________________________ Advisor Prof. PhD Daniela Marzola Fialho PROPUR/UFRGS 2 3 ABSTRACT The general objective of this dissertation is to problematize the relations between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and leisure in the public space, more specifically, games in the public space. It was noted that locative media games played through smartphones provide a new movement of users to the public spaces, a movement that brought players of digital games into the public space and also brought in those who used to play video games indoors. The theme is the ICT in the form of appropriation of the public space, in the perspective of the games of augmented reality and the form of hybrid relationship that people establish with the public space, since the mobility of the mobile locative games produced visible changes in what concerns the occupation and / or exploitation of such spaces. As the object of this work, the game Pokémon GO was used, because it has been a game of great impact and repercussion in the whole world and by the relation of the augmented reality present in the game.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Media & Your Business
    Social Media & Your Business Who, What, When, How Sept. 17, 2014 #SmallBizMedfordNJ @Medford_NJ facebook.com/medfordbusiness Social Media & Your Business Presented by Medford Township’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) ▫ Speaker Allison Eckel, Commission member, Medford resident, owner Promotion Savvy Hosted and Sponsored by the Medford Business Association The New Way to Reach Customers Source: HubSpot.com/inbound-marketing All About the Content 4 basic steps to social media content development Mission Message Visuals Workflow Content Creation Sample business: Only the Best Builder, LLC Medford, NJ Source: Allison Eckel via Instagram Content: Mission Why are you How you Company in the interact with mission business you customers statement are in? online & off Content: Mission Why this business: He wants to deliver the best quality for all home remodeling. Mission: To be the best builder for his customers. Content: Message Call to Action Business Update Shared Experience Content Message: Call-to-Action • Leaves are dropping! Call today for your free gutter evaluation: 1-609-555-1212. • The sun is shining today, but maybe not tomorrow. The first 5 people to comment “Sun Shine On” will get 20% off gutter cleaning! Note: I made up these offers so please don’t ask Dean to honor them. Content Message: Business Update • Look for our new red and yellow trucks on the roads around #MedfordNJ. Only the Best Builder has such great trucks! • Congratulations to [Employee Name] from our framing crew: he’s a new father! We wish all the best to [Name] and his new family! Note: I made these up too. Content Message: Shared Experience • The sun is shining, the temps are cool, my truck is clean… Let’s do this! • Happiness is a clean pair of jeans, a good truck, and a true level.
    [Show full text]
  • A Survey of Locative Media
    A Survey of Locative Media Anıl Çamcı Graduate Program in Media Arts and Technology, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA [email protected] ABSTRACT coupled, we obtain the basic locative media device through the In this paper, studies on locative media are investigated. Through attachment of location information to the data that is passed to a a survey of supporting technologies, structure of related projects, network via mobile devices. both within artistic, social and practical contexts are covered. Also, the social implications of these studies, such as the new 3. SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES urban communities, virtual spaces versus physical ones, and the theory of location awareness in general are discussed. 3.1 GPS Furthermore, concepts that are tightly coupled with locative media The GPS technology is a central component to locative media such as context-awareness, ubiquitous systems, pervasive projects and applications. While there are other technologies such computing and ambient intelligence are explained as new vistas as GIS (Geographical Information System), GSM (Global System for locative media projects. for Mobile communications) etc. that can be incorporated into locative media studies, the ubiquity of GPS puts this technology to the focus of the locative media research both in terms of Keywords technology and concept development. Locative Media, GPS, Mobile Technologies, Location- Awareness, Context-Awareness, Ubiquitous and Pervasive GPS is a satellite-based navigation system. The GPS network Computing, Ambient Intelligence. consists of 24 satellites that started being placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense starting in 1978. In 1994, with the 1. INTRODUCTION addition of the last satellite, the current system was achieved [2].
    [Show full text]
  • How Location-Based Social Network Applications Are Being Used
    Sean David Brennan HOW LOCATION-BASED SOCIAL NETWORK APPLICATIONS ARE BEING USED JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO TIETOJENKÄSITTELYTIETEIDEN LAITOS 2015 ABSTRACT Brennan, Sean David How Location-Based Social Network Applications Are Being Used Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2015, 60 p. Information Systems Science, Master’s Thesis Supervisor: Veijalainen, Jari Location-based social network applications have globally become very popular with the expansion of smartphone usage. Location-based social networks (LBSN) can be defined as a site that uses Web 2.0 technology, GPS, WiFi positioning or mobile devices to allow people to share their locations, which is referred to commonly as a check-in, and to connect with their friends, find places of interest, and leave reviews or tips on specific venues. The aim of this study was to examine how location-based social applications are being used. The methods of this study comprised of a literature review and a discussion on prior research based on a selection of user studies on location-based social networks. This study also aimed at answering a number of sub-questions on user behavior such as activity patterns, motivations for sharing location, privacy concerns, and current and future trends in the field. Twelve LBSN user behavior studies were reviewed in this study. Eight of the user studies reviewed involved the application Foursquare. Research methods on eight of the reviewed studies were studies utilizing databases of the check-ins from the application itself or utilizing Twitter in their analysis. Four of the reviewed studies were user studies involving interviews and surveys. Three main themes emerged from the articles, which were activity patterns, motivations for sharing, and privacy concerns.
    [Show full text]