With the popularity of the internet growing at a rapid speed, it is quickly becoming bigger than the world we know. A person could get lost searching the web looking for local news, gossip, or blogs. In order to make local content on the web more accessible and easier to search, a lot of social networking sites like Twitter, WordPress and Foursquare are allowing users to share their location, appended to their posts.

Localization is great for finding information that is relevant to your area, but, when using it for personal use, there are dangers that come along with it that many users don’t consider. Without the right privacy settings on your profile, some users are unknowingly giving away information to online predators, saying where we are, where we’ll be later on that day, and who we’re with. It’s a caution that has been repeated to us over and over again, yet people are still being naïve, and getting themselves into trouble by giving away too much information online. Even if a user has their information only available to their “friends”, most of us are guilty of accepting friend requests from people that we hardly know or have only met a handful of times.

For businesses, having the chance to include your location is a great strategy for targeting specific markets both locally and internationally. By having your location attached to your posts, you can tailor your messaging, personalize the content and connect with your customers. This increases the agility of your online campaigns and leads to higher conversation potential.

Localization is definitely the most talked about newest trend to hit the social networking scene, and is an addition to the sites which will likely be embraced by most users. Like anything else, it has its benefits and its drawbacks, but for the most part, when used safely, localization makes your online experience more personal and tailored to suit your internet needs.

- by Becky Caissie