I’ve never seen any real reason for developers to use geographical data in their applications. I’m sure I’ll be corrected in the comments if there is good reason but the way I see it, the information is inaccurate and, as a result, pretty much useless and irrelevant.
Twitter however, announced last week that due to the inaccuracy of the current geo-targeting applications (based on the user’s ‘Location’ field), they will release an update to the API. The update will give Twitter the ability to pin point the location from where the tweet was posted from.
Biz Stone said in his recent blog post:
“We’re gearing up to launch a new feature which makes Twitter truly location-aware. A new API will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet. Folks will need to activate this new feature by choice because it will be off by default and the exact location data won’t be stored for an extended period of time. However, if people do opt-in to sharing location on a tweet-by-tweet basis, compelling context will be added to each burst of information.”
So, where from here for Geo-targeted data on Twitter?
I’m sure this will provide much more compelling data. For those that do activate the feature, we will be able to see where users tweet from and whether most ‘tweet on the go’ or simply tweet at their home/office computer.
It will also be interesting to see what developers will achieve with the new feature – give them the tools and they’ll come up with the next inspirational idea, right? Current applications like Twittearth will benefit from this hugely as it will allow for a more precise location – this is the only the geographical platform that has half impressed me thus far (Only half impressed because the login doesn’t work!).
We can’t forget the iPhone and other Smart Phone applications either. We already know iPhones have the ability to submit your location when asked and I’m sure we’ll see an update to certain applications such as TweetDeck in the near future allowing you to submit your exact location to Twitter. Maybe we’ll see something added to Google Maps, Google Latitude or third party interpretations of these (You heard it here first!!).
I’ll keep my reservations for the time being yet I’m not dismissing this data. More information is certainly welcomed and will surely reveal many more trends in the coming months and years that can be used to everyone’s advantage.