An object based conceptual framework for location based social networking

Abstract

In the current technological era the value of information sharing has emerged enormously while the contemporary phenomenon of Social Networking (SN) has provided an avenue for sharing information. The ubiquitous nature of SN services has focused mainly on "Who", "What" and "When", while the "Where" dimension has mainly been neglected. Only recently after realizing that "Where" dimension of information is present in almost 80% of any raw data, the SN platforms have started utilizing the location based information. This has led to the emergence of a new field, namely Location Based Social Networking (LBSN). A comprehensive literature review of LBSN reveals several shortcomings in both, the research and industrial implementation. One of the primary weaknesses is that the location in LBSN is being assumed and treated just as an auxiliary part of information (post, pictures, videos etc.) and not as a core element. This treatment undermines the true significance of location based information in LBSN. To overcome this limitation, current paper proposes an object based conceptual framework in which location reforms itself from a mere non-compulsory attribute of information to a completely new form i.e. an object. The location as an object will have its own attributes and associated behaviors. When this new location based information object is integrated into a LBSN platform, the interactions between location and human objects instigates, which resultantly exhibits new aspects of social and spatial communication not witnessed previously in the LBSN.