It’s been said before, but this is something worth bringing up again as it’s becoming more relevant: as our level of connectivity increases, the lines of distinction between the social web and the real world are blurred accordingly.  

One interesting statistic that emerged over the past week is that Facebook users uploaded 750 million pictures in a single weekend. I’m guessing that a lot of this was done on the go, as users posted pictures of that fun New Years Eve party that was happening as they welcomed in 2011.

On New Years Eve, Twitter exploded the world over, with users greeting each other a Happy New Year at the stroke of midnight. Most notably, Japan’s New Year celebrations logged a record-breaking estimate of nearly 7,000 tweets a second. Again, something like this wouldn’t be happening from the front of a PC or laptop, but as users rang in the New Year with family and friends. In terms of year-end statistics, Twitter saw 100 million new Twitter accounts created over the past 12 months and roughly 25 billion tweets.

But how does this tie in to what I mentioned about our levels of connectivity increasing? 2010 saw a plethora of social media apps created for mobile use.  These apps helped us stay in touch and keep our friends and family in the loop (for better or for worse) about the goings-on in our lives.

With this in mind, one thing that was definitely big for me was the emergence of location-based applications that allowed users to tell friends where they were at a given moment. Foursquare, the popular location service, released an update towards the end of 2010 that gave users the ability to post comments and pictures of places where they checked-in. Need menu suggestions at a restaurant? Forget asking the waiter. Instead, consult Foursquare, see if any friends visited the location before you, and check out their food selection along with pictures of the dish.

Augmented Reality technology also stood out with Layar, a smartphone application that makes use of a phone’s camera and GPS capabilities to create a visual “layer” (a collection of information that corresponds to a given location) on a phone's screen. Different “layers” exist, each providing a different type of information, from restaurant and hotel locations to entertainment ideas and even historic tips. If you're in an unfamiliar city and looking for a coffee, put away your travel guide and pull out Layar to find the closest coffee shop and point you in the right direction. The newest update to Layar now supports interactive “layers” that are designed to enhance a user's experience with the physical world. You’ve heard of Internet browsers before? Layar is a Reality Browser.

Location-based and augmented social media seem poised to change the way we see and experience things in the real world, and also (if it already hasn't) the way we conduct business. So it’s 2011! The future’s here, and while it may not include the flying cars that we saw in the Jetsons, it’s an exciting time in the world of social technology.

Yesterday I spotted the first Facebook Places check-in on my news feed.

Facebook Places, a location-based social service, allows Facebook users to easily share where they are, what they’re doing and what friends they’re with using their mobile device. The 'check-in' immediately posts a status update to a user's personal profile.

Facebook Places is not the first location-based service on the market. Companies like Foursquare have also tapped into real world location check-in’s online, offering rewards or discounts at partnered businesses. In addition to check-in’s and discounts, Facebook Places gives users the ability to check-in friends with the tap of a button, whether they want people to be aware of where they are or not. Of course, users can disable this feature, but it raised a lot of questions about privacy.

When Facebook first announced Facebook Places, my immediate thoughts focused on privacy but also on purpose. Admittedly I am not on Foursquare or any other location-based service, so something may be lost between being an active user and being on the outside. Still I asked: why would people be motivated to essentially advertise exactly where they are at any moment and what risks would it create for personal privacy?

My ‘friend’, who is the first one I have seen use this service, updated to his friends list that he was at a Thai restaurant. I assume that some of the main reasons for check-in’s like this are self-centered. A user may want to get any available discounts that a business has offered by partnering with Facebook or they may simply want to share their whereabouts to show that they are social. In terms of importance for others, it is more difficult for me to find reasons for real world location online check-in’s. It’s not really interesting for me to know where this friend is at that moment, but to be truthful, many of the status updates that appear on my Facebook news feed are not very interesting either. Perhaps knowledge of where this individual is at that exact moment is more helpful for some of his close friends because they can meet up with him if they’re in the immediate area. Knowledge of his location also might be interesting for his family, partner or roommates if they’re hungry and in the mood for some good take-out. His check-in might also be useful for past girlfriends who want to keep… tabs on what he’s up to. Here lies the privacy issue.

The majority of Facebook users have friends on their list who they do not talk to IRL (In Real Life). A friend’s list may boast relationships with people users have lost touch with, met only for a moment or just don’t know very well. Does any Facebook user really want these types of Facebook 'friends' to know where they are? I’m sure the answer to this question all depends on personal preference, but I can say this, I disabled Facebook Places the minute it became available.

For those who share this sentiment, the following link may be useful.  http://lifehacker.com/5616395/how-to-disable-facebook-places