Geo-Location Services Provide New Opportunities for News

"News organizations will want to play attention and be ready to provide the content the location services need and want -- restaurant reviews, event information, real estate listings, even hard news -- relevant to the spot a user happens to be. While services like Yelp and Craigslist have already grabbed some of the review and listings share, news organizations still have a strong brand presence and ties with local businesses they can exploit in the community.

Newsrooms, meanwhile, can monitor the services to see what trends, news or events might be getting attention in specific locales, and get a new layer of information and sources in addition to what they glean from social media like Twitter and Facebook. As one example, people may check in at a local performance or other event and become eyes and ears the news desk can reach out to for content.

On the business side, news organizations can structure deals in which local advertisers' ads on a website are enhanced with information on loyal customers provided by a geo-location service, and rewards are offered online to encourage more of the same."

From my piece today on Poynter Online.