近期，Facebook在英国发售位置信息服务Places。现在日本、美国和英国等地的Facebook用户可以通过远程VPN账户登陆网站touch.facebook.com或Facebook的iPhone应用进入Places服务。在Places服务的主页面上提供了使用该功能的具体介绍。目前，Facebook计划将在部分拥有的较多iPhone或智能手机用户的国家推广Places服务。

英国作为世界主要的Facebook社交网站使用国，在用户人数上仅次于美国，切具有较强的市场渗透力。其中，英国的牛津大学更是美国境外的首个链接到Facebook的网站。因此，Places首先登陆英国也无可厚非。目前，不少英国用户已经开始运用这一新功能。

Facebook Places

Facebook新款Places的主页面中详细介绍了该功能的使用方法：“支持W3地理定位”功能的智能手机可以连接Places服务。主页面还提供了Places功能的常见问题解答和用户个人设置。

当Places登陆英国的同时，Facebook不得不开始考虑Places的下一个推广对象。就我们所知，Places功能的价值需要取决于用户的数量，如果某个国家没有大量的用户使用支持该功能的手机的话，Places的推广将陷入焦灼。反之，如果不断延期其他国家的推广计划，则又会使该国家的Facebook用户产生一种劣势感。

Facebook has launched its location service Places in the UK. Now users from Japan, the US, the UK, and anyone using a remote VPN account can access Places through the touchscreen-optimized site touch.facebook.com and the Facebook for iPhone app. Details about how to user Places are available on a new Places home page. Facebook appears to be rolling out Places to countries with large user bases for the iPhone and smart phones which can access the feature.

The UK currently has the second largest Facebook-using population after the US, and has a higher market penetration than the United States. The UK’s Oxford University was also one of the first networks outside the U.S. to gain access to Facebook, so it is fitting that Places would also come to England before much of the world. Users there are already taking advantage of the new feature, with public Places like Westminster Abbey and Stonehenge racking up checkins.

Facebook’s new Places home page reveals some specifics about who has access to the feature. It explains that Places can be accessed through smart phones which “support W3 geolocation”. The home page also provides links to the Places FAQ and a user’s privacy settings.

Facebook will have to decide how far to roll out Places. Since much of the feature’s value depends on a critical mass of users, launching in countries without enough phones which support it could lead to a lukewarm response. However, holding the feature back from the world for an extended period of time could make some users feel like second-class citizens of Facebook. （Source：Inside Facebook）