By Chris Lee

Things are hotting up in the location-based social network space. In September this year, Facebook launched its Facebook Places service in the UK, a “geosocial” network aimed at taking established players such as Gowalla and Foursquare head-on, and potentially introducing 500 million new users to location-based networking.

Location-based networks work best via GPS-enabled phones and enable users to inform their friends where they are and what they think of it, and also enables businesses to make offers to users in their area. The latest player to join the geosocial network space this month was Geomium with its London launch.

Points of differentiation

Geomium aggregates data from reviews and events sites such as Yelp, Qype and Eventful, and lists millions of local bars, restaurants, events and deals round the world, including “thousands in London alone”, which users are able see on a map filtered by whatever they are looking for at that time. But how does Geomium differ from the better known geosocial networks on the market?

Michael Ferguson, founder and CEO of Geomium, told NMK that the site was a “next-generation platform geared for the masses. [Geomium] takes the best, most robust data, aggregates the best events, place and deals, and combines them with real-time location. No one else is doing this.”

Geomium is currently available on PC and iPhone, which BlackBerry, Android and Nokia handset apps on the way. Users can integrate Geomium with their Facebook to update their status according to their location and can also message friends privately through Geomium.

Private party

Part of Geomium’s unique selling point is the ability for users to see where their friends are on a map and give location-based recommendations on what’s happening in real time, Ferguson argued, but where does that leave user privacy?

“Privacy options are at the very heart of the Geomium process,” Ferguson said. “When people sign up the standard setting is not to share, they can then alter that setting. If anyone feels so strongly that they do not want to share any location details, whilst they would be missing out on some great features, they would still be able to see all the people, places, events and deals in their local area.”

Business benefits

Ferguson is keen to stress that Geomium is not a game and can provide benefits to business.

“By building a community Geomium adds value for businesses. With Foursquare, you can check into a place but that’s it. With Geomium you can see what’s going on around you. You can see what your friends are doing – the idea is making it socially based.”

So where does Ferguson see Geomium and the wider geosocial network space moving in the next 12 months?

“We’re targeting London initially, we believe it’s underserved at the moment, but one year down the line I think we’re going to see more entrants come into this space,” he concluded.

Geomium plans to launch in other cities across the UK in early 2011, with Europe and the US to follow later in the year.