After what has seemed like an never-ending wait, Facebook Places has finally launched in Ireland. The service was quietly launched yesterday evening to the delight of most Irish Facebook users.
Facebook Places is a ‘check-in’ service, similar to Foursqaure or Gowalla, that allows you to inform your friends on Facebook of your current location; be it a local restaurant, pub, or cinema for example.
The service works by utilising the Places feature on either the official Android or iOS Facebook app. It uses location-based technology found in your device to accurately suggest nearby locations to ‘check-in’ to. Upon ‘check-in’, all your friends on Facebook are updated.
Here’s a useful introductory video [2:28] from Facebook:
It’s about connecting the online-world with the offline-world, or transforming online social network connections to real-world tangible ones. Have you used Places yet? What are your impressions?