Seriously, why doesn't everyone believe this? I've googled HN and the web, and I'm not seeing a lot of people pointing out the F+L duo. The user base is minimal for the Loopt Facebook app. As far as I can tell, I'm not making an obvious statement.

I don't get it. These two technologies together answer The question of the internet.

Explain it to us!

i think he means that missing link of directly tying the internet back into real life.

despite what people like us think, the internet is still just entertaining emails coming out of a confusing box for most people.

Glad I'm not the only one who gets it!

Though, it isn't just connecting the internet to real life, which still sounds mundane. The real Big Deal is the network effects you get from the feedback loop between the two. If you've read Guns, Germs, and Steel the two together in a social context create an autocatalytic environment, which is essential to every form of progress in GGS.

I actually think that the question of the internet is a different one.

I think the barrier between the internet and real life is the signal to noise ratio. we have tons of great examples, this site being one of them.

when someone comes up with an efficient and easy way of personalizing exactly what information you get and what is blocked without the fear of missing something important, they will become a huge company.

Hi mdemare,

I hate being so offtopic in replying to your comment here, but as YC doesn't have private messaging, I hope you'll see this. Could you put your email in your profile or email me at technoguyrob @ gmail?

I've put my email in my profile, but my point was that exploring the possibilities of combining FB and Loopt would make a GREAT essay. Lots of people would be interested, (certainly on HN), not just me.