23 Aug 2011
Before: You could only “check in” to locations using the Places feature on a smart phone.
Going Forward: Now you can add location to anything. Lots of people use Facebook to talk about where they are, have been or want to go. Now you can add location from anywhere, regardless of what device you are using, or whether it is a status update, photo or Wall post. Of course, you can always choose not to add location at all.
As a part of this, we are phasing out the mobile-only Places feature. Settings associated with it are also being phased out or removed.
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Facebook is getting rid of mobile-only Places and moving in the same direction as Twitter: users can attach their location to pretty much any update or action.
Ideally, this will also help move Facebook beyond the present tense with location-based, as users can discuss where they were previously or want to go in the future. (Post-foursquare companies like Ditto and others have tried to make this a centerpiece of their services.)
This is a smart move for Facebook, since Places hadn’t really been catching on: location becomes part of its core status function which users know and are comfortable with.
This change will also help publicize Facebook Deals as users buy and use them, again through the core status update/news feed function.
Facebook Blog: Making It Easier to Share With Who You Want
TechCrunch: One Year Later, Facebook Killing Off Places To Put Location Everywhere
