New York — Microblogging website Twitter is hopping on the geolocation bandwagon trend by introducing a new feature that makes Twitter location-aware: an API that will allow users for accurate, tweet-level location data and make the information accessible both on the main Twitter site and through external applications. Tweets will include location based metadata attached to them including latitude and longitude details.
Location, location, location. That is a raging theme in technology circles these days. After watching TomTom launch a $100 GPS application for the iPhone and Garmin introduce its much-anticipated Nüvifone series, Twitter is now stepping up to the location plate, rolling out broader support for developers working on geolocation software.
The announcement was made by Biz Stone in a post on Twitter.com’s Blog. In the beginning, Twitter will supply to its external developers a preview of a new geolocation API (Application Programming Interface) before it is fully operational on Twitter, which would enable developers to attach geographic metadata to “tweets,” the company wrote in a blog post.
“Developers will be able to access this new geolocation feature early which means it will most likely be available on your app of choice before it is available on Twitter’s Web site. Later, we will add it to our mobile Web site and Twitter.com as well,” wrote Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
So far, location information has been available to external developers, but via a “rudimentary” API that uses the location information Twitter users add to their profile. “Since anything can be written in this field, it is interesting but not very dependable,” Stone wrote.
Twitter users will be able to select in to sharing locations on a tweet-by-tweet basis.
According to Stone, most of the location-based programs he sees are built using the simple, account-level location field people can fill out as part of their profile. Since anything can be written in this field, he admitted, it is interesting but not very dependable.
“We setting up to launch a new feature which makes Twitter truly location-aware. A new API will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet,” Stone says. “If people do opt-in to sharing location on a tweet-by-tweet basis, compelling context will be added to each burst of information.”
Once the new geolocation becomes fully operational, end-users in all cases will have to opt in to append latitude and longitude coordinates to their posts.
Stone demonstrated one example of the possibilities for Twitter users who have access to precise, tweet-level location data: changing from reading the tweets of accounts you follow to reading tweets from anyone in your neighborhood or city — whether you follow them or not.
“It is easy to ideate how this might be interesting at an event like a concert or even something more striking like an earthquake,” Stone said. “There will likely be many use cases we have not even thought of yet, which is part of what makes this so exciting.”
The geolocation functionality will allow developers to create and deliver “more meaningful and localized experiences” to their applications’ users, wrote Ryan Sarver, a member of the Twitter application platform support team, in a discussion forum for Twitter developers.
“We are also really stirred up about a unique facet of this release in that it will be API-only initially. This means that Twitter.com would not surface the functionality and we look forward to seeing the new and interesting experiences that will grow out of the ecosystem,” Sarver wrote.
To prevent any abuse of the system, Twitter is addressing security concerns by making the geolocation services off by default and will leave users to decide whether or not they want to activate it.
Stone attempted to ward off the privacy advocates that have plagued Google and others for location-based services. He said Twitter account holders need to activate the feature by choice. The geolocation services will remain off by default. He also stressed that the exact location data would not be stored for an extended period of time, though he did not offer a time limit.
“There are a lot of security and privacy issues that come along with location-based services that people need to be aware of,” Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis, said. “It is the consumer’s responsibility, not Twitter’s, to ensure their safety and protect themselves. But it is good that Twitter provides a gate that at least prevents them from shooting themselves in the foot unknowingly.”
Twitter’s next move is to release the API to platform developers who will work on new applications. Stone did not mention how long it might be before the feature is added to Twitter.com. He did, however, hint at future plans for the apps.
“Developers will have access to this new geolocation feature early, which means it will most likely be available on your app of choice before it is available on Twitter’s Web site,” he said. “Later, we will add it to our mobile Web site and Twitter.com as well.”
There is no specific date set yet for the official release of the geolocation API.