In 2011, a service that’s just about check-ins is going to struggle (best case) or die (worst case). Those that succeed need to find a stronger motivation than badges and self-branding to thrive. That might come in the form of coupons and discounts, but that will run into trouble with the likes of Groupon and Facebook, both of which have far larger distribution. It might also come in the form of some kind of recommendation or discovery service, or personal journaling. Foursquare’s new Explore feature is a step in this direction.

I don’t really believe that Check-in or Location based Services will die this 2011 but there is no doubt some of them will die and one will emerge victorious. The only service I’m seeing that is by far giving out a good deal for it’s users is Foursquare and very useful once incorporated with a great service like Localscope but they really need to up their game in case Facebook starts upgrading Places which as of today doesn’t do anything really special. ¹

Source: ReadWriteWeb