MONTREAL - They're called points of interest and can range from favourite outlet malls and good fishing spots to golf courses where Tiger Woods won a PGA tour championship.
Others include Tim Hortons locations, Salvation Army Thrift Stores, historic cemeteries and hot-air balloon festivals.
A person uses a GPS to locate Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal Tuesday, April 30, 2008. Geography is finding its place in social networking on the Internet as websites focus on places that connect people, and as GPS technology becomes more common among consumers. THE CANADIAN PRESS Ryan Remiorz
Geography is becoming a part of social networking on the Internet as websites focus on places that connect people, and as GPS technology becomes more common among consumers.
POIfriend.com is an example of new geo-social networking websites that connect people to places. POI stands for point of interest. It's all about sharing favourite places.
"A place is a place is a place until it takes on some kind of importance or relevance or mystery to an individual, and then it becomes a point of interest," said Bill McLean, co-founder of POIfriend.com in Oakville, Ont.
POIfriend.com can be used while on a computer or through most portable GPS-enabled devices, such as a cellphone, or GPS devices themselves. The website is updated by its users who aim to keep the content fresh, recommending places in categories including arts and entertainment, attractions and events, food and beverage, shopping and services as well as a most-requested category.
There are other geo-social networking sites for neighbourhoods and cities, and Google Local has local listings, but McLean said POIfriend is unique.
"POIfriend.com is the first site of its kind in that we have created a community for people to come together under the common bond of identifying locations of importance to them."
McLean, who has a background in travel management, and his partner and friend Dave Krawczyk, an entrepreneur, worked on developing the site for the last several years. It has been up and running for about four months.
McLean said POIfriend's relevance comes from its users.
"The overall success and the growth of the community is dependent on the users who come to the community and participate in it."
Technology author Andy Walker said that as GPS technology becomes increasingly widespread, geo-social networking sites should become more popular.
But he said it will depend on the devices.
"(GPS) is still in the early-adopter phase," said Walker, the Toronto-based founder of Cyberwalker.com.
"So what's going to force it into the mass market will be the ubiquity of GPS functionality in my cellphone, in my watch, in my computer, in my car and things like that, which I would say will occur over the next 12 to 18 months."
POIfriend is free and there are no ads, but McLean said businesses can participate in the site in a "commercial relationship" to make their locations available. It also allows non-profit, charity organizations to use the site to make their locations available.
"We think it's a perfect environment for them to be able to further their cause and their opportunities through the power of a community like this."
Digital culture expert Max Valiquette said there will be more sites like POIfriend.com, and one will eventually become dominant.
POIfriend has some challenges ahead, said Valiquette, president of Youthography, a communications agency in Toronto. Information on the site has to be kept fresh.
"We will waste time playing games or having an entertainment experience (online), but we do not want to waste time hunting for information. So if this promises the best, fast information, it has got to deliver on that."
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