Beyond the bar: the places where location-based services are used in the city

Mobile services are integrating into the places and routines of daily life. But which types of places afford the use of various services, and how important are these places in our lives? Through several studies, we have explored the types of places that are most important to people in their cities, and compare these to the place types where different location-based services are used. We find that services were used quite consistently between cities, but that between services places of personal salience, such as parks, are less common in the use of today’s check-in services compared with location-based storytelling systems. Supported with data from the StoryPlace.me service, we suggest that focusing on selective sharing and storytelling can facilitate use at these more personally meaningful places.