Looking at the landscape of social networking, it doesn't take long to notice an increasing trend in location-aware services and communities.  Gowalla, Foursquare, and BrightKite are some of the frontrunners in this area and all of them offer the ability to share your location and post about it on Twitter and Facebook.  While this seems like a great idea, and I believe it is, it has stirred up some interesting conversation regarding the usefulness of notifying people that follow or friend you of your every move.  Some might also argue, "who cares if you're at Applebees?".  I have mixed feelings on the topic of location announcing, both in how I personally use these networks and how I see these networks benefiting not only individuals but businesses and organizations.

Will you be checking in?
One of the great benefits these location-based/aware services offer is the opportunity to meet new people, not only only, but face-to-face.  However bridging these two worlds often means announcing your whereabouts to the world.  This is where things can get a bit stickly among your followers and friends.  The first time you post about going to a certain location and checking in there can be fun.  I've had multiple instances this past week where my checkin posts have spurred further conversation from some of my Twitter and Facebook friends.  Doing it too much, however, can possilbly have a negative affect.  The constant notification can be both overwhelming to followers that don't participate in networks such as Gowalla, Foursquare and BrightKite.  A conversation that took place at work today solidified this point in my mind.

Discovery.
That being said, there are two exciting aspects of posting my location.  The first is the possibility of meeting someone face-to-face and finally making that "real world" (I hate that term, by the way) connection.  In fact, one of my location notifications from this past weekend made me aware that someone I know on Twitter happened to be at the same restaurant that I was at around the same time.  To me, that was cool.  The only think that would have made that better would have been actually meeting the person, but we were able to talk about it afterwords and might run into one another in the future.

The second aspect is the discovery of a hidden gem.  That little shop in the Northwoods that makes ceramic and metal-sculpted basins and home decor.  If something or some place is cool, I want to let people know about it.  I also like to give people a shout if their making my life easier and more enjoyable.  The United States Post Office in Elm Grove, WI is run by some of the most helpful and friendly people I've ever met.  With that in mind, I've made a point to share my location, along with a little note about their unbelivable service, during my recent stops there.  But I realize that may not be meaningful to everyone.

Location in moderation.
I'm going to try a little experiment.  Maybe it's not so much of an experiment, but rather a reigning in of how I share my check-in info on Twitter and Facebook.  I don't like to put myself into a box, so I won't say how much or how little I'll post check-in info, but it'll be given thought before it is/isn't posted.  Gee, that was vague.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this subject.  I know some people that have leapt into these location networks with much more zest than I have, and I applaud them for that.  Do you like seeing location posts from your followers, do you not like it, or do you not care one way or the other?  Feel free to share your comments!