• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 4, 2010

Location-based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla have attracted loads of publicity and investors' dollars, but so far relatively few users. Only 4% of U.S. adults who go online are using "geosocial" services, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

The finding echoes research released earlier this year by Forrester Research that reported the same 4% figure for the proportion of people using social location tools. The Pew report found that on any given day, only 1% of Internet users are interacting with geosocial services and that younger people, wireless Web users and Hispanics tend to be the biggest users so far.

But uptake rates even for these early adopters are barely beyond single digits. Among people who browse the mobile Web, 7% check in to social locations apps, while 8% of those ages 18 to 29 do so, and 10% of Hispanics. In terms of gender, men are more are more likely than women to go on geosocial services, 6% to 3%.

A Wall Street Journal story on Foursquare Wednesday said the location service that popularized check-ins and the concept of becoming "mayor" of a venue had attracted 4 million users in the 20 months since it was started. But a quarter of those were added in just the last six weeks, signaling accelerating growth.

Intrigued by the potential to deliver targeted advertising to consumers on the go, marketers such as Starbucks, Arby's, Steve Madden and The Gap have begun experimenting with advertising on Foursquare and competing services in the form of sponsored badges, special offers and contests tied to check-ins.

Investors have also taken notice. Foursquare, for instance, has raised nearly $21.5 million in venture funding to date while Loopt, a competitor, has landed $17 million.

The Pew report itself pointed out that the number of people who use Twitter or other status-updating services has grown from 6% of online adults in August 2008 to 24% in September 2010. Within this group, 10% use a location-sharing service like Foursquare or Gowalla. And among people who use social networking services like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, 6% have also embraced social location tools.

Facebook in August launched its own location-based feature called Places, which it expanded Wednesday by allowing participating businesses to advertise special deals. The move could help Facebook better compete with Foursquare and other rivals in the geosocial space that already offer deals.

The Pew study's findings were based on data from telephone interviews conducted between August 9 and September 13, 2010, among a sample of 3,001 adults, ages 18 and older.