Location Based Social Networking providers like Foursquare have been enrolling users like never before. With this resounding success of these LBS providers it was quite obvious that others would soon catch up with the craze and evolve their own versions.
DeHood is one of the latest LBS that emulated Foursquare’s features. However it goes on to a hyper local level with additions of few local advantages and characteristics to keep itself distinct from Foursquare. It targets to accumulate the communities of “hoods” about local news, places, business, etc. This facilitates immediate communication with firends, families and neighbours which makes it the first location-based social network for the neighbourhoods as claimed by DeHood.
To quote from the Press Release, “DeHood helps users discover people, places, events and great offers in their locality, and enables a complete Social Network for shopping and places. For example, residents can find out what is going on around them before they leave their house, whether it’s a traffic jam, the latest Hot Spot, the best deal nearby, or a local event to check into. With an accurate check-in function they learn the location of their friends, privately message them, or follow the thoughts of other residents on how to make their ‘hood’ a better place to live.”
DeHood’s target of neighbourhood and its surroundings is one-of-its-kind. However in terms of its service one hardly finds any difference from the numerous other “location-based social networks” that mushroom every now and then. It probably is a wonderful concept conceived a bit too late. It has missed the train to catch on with the craze.
Foursquare and Gowalla are distinctly ahead and lead the race. Inspite of doing all correct DeHood will not be able to takeover these leaders of the game. It would be an uphill task for DeHood to make itself the automatic choice when one thinks of a social LBS. We would love to see that happening though.