Live Blogging Facebook Places Product Launch Here Now and Not Now- Gong Show

Notnow.JPGMark Zuckerberg is on stage thanking everyone for coming the Facebook launch event.  It's going to be fun and interesting summer with new features.

Update 08/19/10 - There has already been a backlash of privacy concerns for the very complicated opt-out process for for Facebook Places that allows others and business partners to access your information as well as technical glitches.

Facebook doesn't have a timeline, when they are ready they release it. Today they are talking about the Facebook Places app.

Mark was out to dinner in Menlo Park, and he shows it to his girlfriend.  She says their friends are at a restaurant next store to them  Then Mark knew they were ready to launch Facebook Places.

Facebook Places:

  • Helps share where you are.
  • Helps see what's around you.
  • Helps see where you're friends are.

Gowalla.JPGThey show a promo video. Through Facebook you can learn about your
friend now you find where your friends are at.  Let your friends know
where you are, and they check in and then you can meet.  If your are
walking by it lets you have serendipitous meeting.

Places sharing moments and places in your life. At launch Places will  be in an iPhone app and via web access.

Another dimension of realty to capture memories in your life.

There are APIs for developers for checking-in, reporting and more. Gowalla is integrating with Facebook Places.

Foursquare is going to build upon location check-in and will explore the Facebook Places API.

Yelp is also partnering with Facebook. Eric Singley says their mobile apps and check-in apps are exciting.  They are going to use the Facebook API, you can check in on Yelp with Yelp friends or Facebook friends. There's going to be an augmented reality feature.

Booyah's Keith Lee, created Booyah's InCrowd an Phone app with Facebook Places information.

Chris Cox is talking sociology. Three places that matter, home, work, and the third places is the bar, restaurant library where we share our lives.  Oldenburg said that technology was in danger of destroying the third place over time and people would be in private bubbles.

Gongshow.JPGThe theory and goal of Facebook Places is that the Third Place will be kept alive.  One day you walk into a bar, put your phone down and it will glow, this what people ordered, photos and stories from your friend. He claims reality comes alive with the stories we have told alive with Facebook Places.

There are plans for Android and BlackBerry.  If a place page is business the business can claim it as their Facebook business page. If a place is closed it will still be in Places, maybe.

To celebrate the dev team will hit the gong and then throw the wooden  launch switch.