(Mashable) -- For all their buzz and value, location-based social networks haven't really gone mainstream yet. Only 7 percent of Americans are aware of location-based social networks, according to data from Edison Research. Part of the explanation for this is that the majority of mobile users aren't using smartphones. And as a result, just 10 percent of those surveyed use mobile location services at least once a week, according to the Mobile Marketing Association's latest Mobile Consumer Briefing survey. For smartphone users, like those of the iPhone (a popular device among early adopters), that number jumps all the way up to 63 percent.
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Sites and apps that let users track their locations get buzz from tech media
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But the sites are not achieving mainstream popularity, according to surveys
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Only 7 percent of Americans are aware of location-based social networks
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Facebook and Twitter may soon popularize the idea, however.
@placeholder gives an example of one user tweeting about the weather in one location, while another user tweets about traveling to that very location.