• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, February 2, 2011

 

When Google announced yesterday it was adding check-ins to Latitude, its location-based service, the first question that came to mind was "What took so long?" Latitude was launched in 2009, the same year as Foursquare, the company that would go on to popularize the feature for signaling one's location at particular bar, restaurant or other place via mobile device.

 Two years in the technology business is an eternity. And Google Places, which now integrates Latitude and check-ins, was introduced last year. Meanwhile, talk of "check-in" fatigue and the commoditization of check-ins has been underway for some time among the digerati -- exactly why Google bypassed a feature that's considered a basic element of any social location service. Perhaps it's part of Google's recharged competitive metabolism under new CEO Larry Page.

 

Latitude's product manager has indicated in comments that Google wanted to get check-ins right before rolling out its own version. And even though Latitude hasn't attracted the buzz that Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook have lately, it has drawn 10 million users over the last two years. Foursquare, by comparison, had six million as of December.

 

Google's check-ins add a couple of new wrinkles, like notifications that pop up when you forget to check in somewhere, and check-ins that will automatically alert friends to your location at designated places. There's also a "check-out" feature for telling people when you've left a certain place. Call it Check-in 2.o, courtesy of Google.

 

The new twists added by Google will make check-ins more useful, but whether they'll reignite enthusiasm for the feature competitors are trying go beyond isn't clear. The combination of Latitude's continuous tracking with check-ins could end up reviving privacy concerns raised when the service first launched. (It can be turned off by users, or location can be manually entered.) But better late than never.

 

While check-ins may be passé among technophiles and hipsters, only 4% of U.S. adults who go online are even using social location tools, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in November. That means there's more room (and time) left for Google and others in the space to upgrade their offerings to gain wider adoption. As Facebook showed in social networking, being first doesn't always mean coming out on top.