Brian Womack
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Facebook Inc. may unveil location services for its site today at a company event, taking a page from fast-growing startup Foursquare Labs Inc., analysts say.
Facebook, the biggest social-networking service, has said for months that it’s working on a location feature, without providing details. The company is holding a press conference this afternoon at its Palo Alto, California, headquarters.
Location-based services, which let users share information on their whereabouts and find friends nearby, could generate as much as $4.1 billion annually in advertising by 2015, according to Borrell Associates. The features help marketers more easily target customers, reaching shoppers when they’re close to making a purchasing decision. Facebook, which has more than 500 million members, is adding features and advertising options to its site to capitalize on its popularity.
