Are check-in apps just a fad or are they the future of local business marketing? It may still be too early to tell, but I’m starting to lean toward the latter, because this space is only picking up more and more steam, and businesses and marketers are getting excited about it as more apps continue to flood the mobile app markets. 

Are check-in apps just a fad? Tell us what you think.

If someone were to ask you to name the trendy social services right now, more than likely they’d say Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare… as those seem to be the “big 3”. They’re interchangeable – as some would select GoWalla over Foursquare and MySpace over Facebook, it’s subjective. Fairly soon you might start hearing another service joining the ranks of the social elite, GetGlue.

It seems that Space is no longer the final frontier when talking about Foursquare check-ins. Douglas Wheelock, a NASA astronaut, has checked into the International Space Station using the location-based app. For this simple feat, Wheelock was "awarded" the very first NASA Explorer Badge. Bow before it Foursquare geeks.

Gowalla has announced the launch of its new Check in API. This is different than the Gowalla API, which was launched in February, which first let developers tap into Gowalla data for their apps.

"With today’s release, we’re expanding what’s possible, enabling your applications to create check-ins on behalf of users," the company says. It utilizes OAuth 2.0 to do so.

The company gives developers the following guidelines for using the API:

Geo-social aggregator The Hotlist has launched a new iPhone app aimed at letting users see the latest on their friends’ present and future social destinations, as well as venues and activities near the user’s current location.

The Hotlist launched last year, claiming to be the first geo-social aggregator. Its platform calculates the popularity of events and venues, offering analytics and ratings for social planning.

There are too many happenings everyday in the social media space for any single business owner to keep up with. Today’s web is fast, and very, very innovative. The production never slows down. New tools and integrations are launched seemingly every other minute.

While I’d encourage you to sift through the headlines and social media app directories on a regular basis, I’ve put together a few currently unfolding storylines with big implications for business owners.