What's Next for 'Check-In' Mobile Apps?

Ever heard of SCVNGR (pronounced Scavenger) or foursquare? A new wave of mobile technology known as 'Check-In' apps are growing in popularity. This week CNN blogger John Sutter met with the CEO of SCVNGR and wrote an interesting blog post about new 'Check-In' mobile applications.

He made some interesting observations about SCVNGR, a mobile gaming application that targets the real estate industry, among others.

"SCVNGR, which Seth Priebatsch helped create, is one of the latest apps to build on top of the idea of a "check-in," that emerging term some tech-savvy people use to describe the act of using a GPS-enabled smartphone to share their whereabouts with friends.

Increasingly, app developers are using existing location-based social networks -- such as Foursquare, Gowalla and, most recently, Facebook Places -- to create games, challenges, city guides and dating services.

It seems the "check-in" was just the beginning.

SCVNGR, for example, announced its integration with Facebook Places on Friday. That means people can use that free Android and iPhone app to complete challenges similar to Priebatsch's origami experiment and share that information easily with friends on Facebook. People on SCVNGR (pronounced "scavenger") also will be able to see the locations of their friends who use Facebook Places.