Bangalore: Facebook has introduced a new location-based functionality called ‘Facebook Places’. Now Facebook users will be able to add their current location to their status updates via Facebook Places.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook, highlighted the three main uses of Places, “Help you share where you are, help you find where your friends are, and discover new places around you.”
You can also add places and can check-in at places. However, Facebook does not show you nearby places, but places it thinks are relevant to you.
Also photo tagging has been incorporated with Places. You can “tag” friends that are with you at a specific location. Thus, everybody doesn’t have to check-in on their own. Implementation of tagging seems to be one of the best features of the platform.
The privacy controls for Places comprise of removing check-in and the “Here Now” button is activated only after you check in. You are notified when you are tagged and you can only tag your friends. You can also remove tags or turn off being tagged in Facebook Places. You also have the option to report a place on the iPhone if it’s inaccurate or don’t want it on the system.
Another interesting feature of Places is “Is this your business?” It allows owners to claim a business page. So, something is there for the business owners as well.
Facebook has kept developers in mind as well while creating Places. There’s a Read API for reading check-ins and learning more about check-in pages. There’s a Search and Write API for making check-ins and searching through them.