What is a Facebook Check In?
A Check In allows you to share your physical location with your friends on Facebook by using the Facebook app.
It's always fun to connect with friends in different ways, and that is exactly what the Check In feature allows you to do. From your smartphone, you can alert your friends and family as to where you are by tapping the Check In button in the Facebook mobile app. Using Check In allows people to see what you are doing as you venture throughout your day.
Check In is a Status Update
A Check In is a special type of status update that uses existing information on Facebook to locate businesses, places, and locations using your smartphone location features. Since your smartphone has the hardware to know your current location, Facebook can use that location to identify places that are nearby you. When you tap the Check In button, a list of places appears, and you simply select the one you want to use.
In addition to the location being listed in the Status Update box when you tap the Check In button, you can add text to expand your message and add photos just as you would with any other Status Update on Facebook.
How does Facebook get the list of places?
The locations that Facebook knows about are the result of people, businesses, schools, governments, and other organizations who create a Page on Facebook. Pages are what you can Like on Facebook, and they aren't just for businesses. If the Page has a physical address that the Page creator provided when they created the Facebook Page, that Page listing appears when you use the Check In option since Facebook has the address and location information.
Using Check In
Using Check In may seem a bit unusual at first, since you probably aren't in the habit of letting people know your location. But Check In has some useful aspects. You're letting any friends who happen to be close by know where you are. If you are out and about on your own, you may be able to find a friend nearby for lunch, coffee, or to say hi.
Check In is also a great feature that allows you to stay in touch with your friends and family. Instead of typing out a text message on your phone, making a phone call, or sending an email, you can alert everyone who needs to know where you are, whether you are shopping, picking up food, or just running late.
It's also fun to use the Check In feature to promote your favorite businesses and locations. When you patronize a business, it's often because you like it's products or services. When you Check In, the business location is shared with your Facebook network, and you've provided a form of endorsement to that business. Endorsements are especially helpful for small businesses who rely on word of mouth for reaching new customers.
A Check In is also a way to help any local business you patronize obtain more visibility on Facebook. The Check In update is sent to your friends and appears in the News Feed of your friends and connections. The business receives an update on it's Page with a new Check In added to its total.
While many businesses have their locations listed on Facebook for Check In, there are other types of locations as well. Some of these include schools, museums, parks, tourist attractions, monuments, theaters, and buildings.
Check In Privacy - It's Not
Keep in mind that when you Check In, the Check In is a Public update which can be viewed not only by your friends, but by anyone one Facebook. Because a Check In is a type of status update in connection with a Page, and since all Page activity is Public, your Check In is Public. To just let someone know where you are right now, and keep it private, it's better to use texting, email, or that old fashioned form of communications, a phone call.
To my way of thinking
Though checking in has many advantages, perhaps one of the best ones is that it allows us to connect more concretely with the people we care about. A lot of people have talked about how social networking brings us closer together. Even if you cannot be with someone that you care about, you can at a glance see where they went to lunch, where they shopped for shoes and where they went after class or work. When you cannot join someone that you care about for their day, this is perhaps the next best thing.
It's also very useful in the event of an emergency since it can assist emergency responders and loved ones to find you if necessary.
The next time you are out and about, why not try checking in? You never know who is nearby, and it is a great way to share your day with your connections and help a local business!
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