Does location based services really have no business models?

One of the lessons I have learn in my previous post is the lack of a business case for location based services. I like to give more perspective on why this is so. There are currently three general categories of location based services and below are my beliefs on why they are not as viable as is commonly believed.

Directory Services: There are currently tons of services that offer you information on where to eat, which pub to drink, what shops are there etc. While there will be traction on these services, I believe they will remain niches. Why?

The simple logic is that we are always in familiar places. Most of the time we are either at home or at work. When we are at these places, do we need to know what is available around us? Most probably we already know, and if we don't, the more simple way is to ask our colleagues or friends.

There will be times where we are in new places and might need such services but such moments will be infrequent. Creating mobile services that are not used frequently is a missed opportunity for mobile. Phones are the most carried around and personalised items. If we think harder about creating more valuable mobile services, we can potentially create something that people will use on their phones everyday.


Mobile Trackers: There are now trackers of all sorts, from tracking your child and spouse to your car and dog. It again sounds good on paper but there are two issues.

First, who wants to be tracked every single moment? If parents slap a tracking device on their kids, I can bet my last dollar that the kid will find a way to disable or go around it.

Second, once people realise that whatever they are tracking always go on the same route, over and over again, the tendency to use it will diminsh. This goes back to the same issue for infrequent use. It is a wasted opportunity.


Mobile Social Networking: I am actually very optimistic about mobile social networking. However, in this case, the location based component is only a bonus. Take away that part and mobile social networking still works., The key attraction is to be able to connect with your friends anywhere, not necessarily with only those around you.

And this is where I think most locaiton based services will be. Nothing more than a bonus add on. It is a good to have but not the critically component of the service.

So, where do I think are the opportunities? One is of course events related mobile advertising. Events can reveal the users' intentions (i.e. if I go to a U2 concent, it can be assumed I am a U2 fan). If we pair that with the mobile's ability to develop engaging relationships between brands and consumers, the combination is a potentially potent one.

There are of course other areas in the mobile space that is worth spending your attention on. I will leave these for future posts.

Posted in: mobile,Personal