Last month, a story on Ad Age reported only 5% of online Americans use location apps like foursquare. With many location-based services now automated (think Weather Channel pulling up your local forecast without entering your zip code), a quick survey around the office showed that at least 76% of us are using location apps. Apparently our definition is a bit broader as we heard back on a whole lot of apps. The following stats and recommendations are taken from the location app users in our office – enjoy!

Most Used Location Apps:
58% Foursquare
58% Instagram
37% Yelp
37% Path
26% Facebook Places
26% Groupon

Places We're Checking Into:
68% Bars/Clubs/Music Venues
58% New Cities/On Vacation
58% Restaurants
47% Cafes/Coffee Shops
37% Sporting Venues
32% Parks/Bike Paths/Outdoor Spots

Top Motivations For Using Location Apps:
53% Promote Locations
47% To Share with Friends
42% Sync Photos with Location
37% Discounts/Coupons
37% To Track Distance/Record Spots
32% Receive Badges

Our Recommendations:
“With Path, the simple, fluid layout makes it a joy to use and it also lets you know who sees what you post and who is looking at your Path. Posts you make can also be posted to your Tumblr, foursquare, Twitter and Facebook if desired.”
-Tom Flaherty, Experience Designer 

"I like Untappd, since I’m a beer geek. I also think part of the reason is that since Untappd is more a niche social network with a pretty specific audience (craft beer lovers), there is a little more sense of community versus blasting it out to random people that may not have as common of interests.” 
-Evan Johnston, Experience Engineer

"I like EveryTrail because I'm always looking to go on an adventure that only locals know about. EveryTrail's community is full of outdoorsmen with a passion for telling stories about their experiences.” 
-Brent Slone, Digital Strategist

 “I've been using Oink as opposed to Instagram recently, also a location-based app. I was using Instagram to snapshot what I was eating, or a sunset every now and again. Oink is more of an Instagram mixed with Yelp – I dig it.” 
-Chris Robertson, Senior Experience Designer

*Images from http://notlion.github.com/streetview-stereographic/