Search

Location-based social networks ( LBSNs) are mobile applications that allow people to share their physical location with friends through their mobile device. The sharing of location is a relatively new form of computer-mediated communication, and there is a lack of existing research examining the coordination practices of people using social location sharing services. This article reports on qualitative interviews with frequent users of the LBSN Foursquare to show both how LBSNs complicate views of the relative 'placelessness' of traditional mobile communication and how the design of Foursquare complicates its utility as a mobile coordination tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes 4 months of popular press articles from major publications about location-aware mobile phones. Our results identify 2 main areas: the control these devices offer over public spaces and the lack of control users have over their location information. This lack of control is often framed as a lack of privacy. We argue that the ability to control and personalize public spaces is not new because previous types of portable media already allowed users to manage interactions with public spaces. However, issues of privacy and control over public spaces are more pronounced with location-aware technologies. Our conclusions suggest that popular press discourses often overlook more complex social issues related to privacy in public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]