What are the trends and memes in social media at the moment?  What’s hot off the server?  One of the biggest discussions is around Facebook Places, and the future of location services, widely tipped to join the top table of social media.

Figure 1: Topic cloud for the launch of Facebook Places – 19/8 to 25/8

Here are a couple few pointers to help you to keep up with the location conversation from a brand perspective.

Top 5 Ways Big Brands are Using Foursquare

Matt Silverman on Mashable (24/8) looks at on the way brands are working to connect location services to their wider online footprint.  Silverman points out ‘many predict that when cultural acceptance, mainstream social integration, and business value finally coincide, location sharing will be as common and natural as updating your Facebook status’.  If so, will your brand be ready?

Location is Now Part of the Social Graph — 3 Implications

Irfan Kamal on Ogilvy PR’s 360 Digital Blog (25/8) posts his comments on the implications of exponential growth in location for marketers, agencies and social location start-ups.

Facebook Introduces ‘Places,’ Lets Users Check in From Venues
No Ad Offerings Yet, but Plenty a Business Owner Can Do

Irina Slutsky on Advertising Age (18/8) offers tips on how marketers with physical locations can benefit from Places.  Facebook has not yet released details on advertising opportunities.