Canaries in a coal mine

eMarketer reports:

“Proximity data will help guide marketer messaging at each stage of the purchase funnel, starting with building awareness about the location of a store or product, and becoming progressively more specific to include promotions or offers as a consumer gets physically closer." 

And this from CBS MoneyWatch, which discusses AT&T's brand new location-based enterprise services:

"By entering the fray, AT&T has elevated LBS from “the next big thing in social media” to a position of real gravitas: enterprise software tool. The tacit difference between a social media trend and an enterprise tool is, of course, is the presumption of permanence." 

And so we come full-circle: understanding the battle between Facebook's Check-In and Foursquare:

"In August, Facebook launched Places, a tool that lets you "check in" at real-life locations, such as restaurants and concert venues, with the help of the GPS on your smartphone. The idea was to let friends know where you are. Though just 4% of Americans use location-sharing services, critics warn they can make users vulnerable. One lets users register virtually any location with the service, even someone else's home or office; the other lets friends check you into locations unless you disable the setting. That means other Facebook users may know where you live or where you are, even if you haven't posted that info yourself."

Location-based services are here, now. It's a gold mine for marketers, but a questionable option for everyone else.