Cafe Cofee Day has listed itself as a business officially on Foursquare and has started offering Foursquare Specials including discounts and free coffee on subsequent check-ins across its outlets in Bangalore, according to TechKnots. This, and the fact that Facebook appears to be rolling out Facebook Places in India (according to The Next Web; hasn't worked for us on iPhone and Android devices), might signal the arrival of check-in apps and of an eco system revolving around them. More than just another social networking activity, integrating Check-in apps, which are essentially location based services and local businesses, opens up other prospects for users as well as for establishments. For businesses, it could be a less expensive and interesting marketing proposition to push brand loyalty, driving repeat usage and viral promotion by word of mouth. The Location Ecosystem: FourSquare, Latitude & Facebook Foursquare implemented location check-ins in 2009, and had this whole concept of points and badges, creating a leader board game like system for users on a social platform. It signed up businesses to offer actual rewards in form of discounts, priority service, reserved parking and other loyalty programs to users who check-in to their venues. It even lets brands that don't have a physical presence like a TV channel or a magazine offer rewards, tips and co-branded badges. Google launched its Latitude service way back in 2009, which enabled people to share their location with their online friends, bringing a social element into its navigation service. It recently introduced the check-in feature similar…
