Facebook Adds Places. This Will Not End Well.

As anticipated, Facebook unveiled “Places,” the ‘Book’s foray into the location based services, or as everyone calls it now, their check-in service.

Mildly interesting was that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was joined on stage by representatives of Foursquare and GoWalla, the more well-known LBSs out there. Really, the two start-ups have no choice at this point, but still, interesting.

For the most part, there’s nothing new to see here, we should all move along. Oh, except Places allows your friends to tag you at locations. Whether you’re there or not.

Wait a minute?

You know that feeling when you receive an email that you’ve been tagged in a photo? How quickly will you sprint to Facebook when someone checks you into a location? Getting the email that my knucklehead friends have tagged me at Christie’s Cabaret (because they think they’re hilarious, and it is), will be fun.

Yes, you can opt out, but with anything Facebook, the default should be opt-in, not the other way around.

The other drawback to Places is, this is still Facebook.  This is the same company that does not erase data, botches privacy rights and exposes user phone numbers.

I have a feeling, this whole Places thing may be Facebook’s Google moment, an act of arrogance that users will stop using the incumbent.  Plus, it may be my underdog mentality talking, but I don’t want Facebook to win this war. I’m a huge fan of Foursquare, and while it’s not perfect, it feels like they (along with Brightkite and Loopt) built this genre, and Facebook is just bullying their way to the top.