Social Media is a bit ironic. As usage of online social networks have skyrocketed in the ‘00s, people spend more and more time staring at their computer screens … some would argue that isn’t really all that social. Facebook is the perfect place to document your trip to the beach, but it’s also a great way to make sure you’ll stay in a dark room all day, bathing in the light of your laptop. I’m no betting man, but I’d put money on the fact that this will change in the future. Social media is still a tiny infant, and I foresee a future where social media technologies play a more active role in our offline lives.

Actually, it doesn’t take much foresight. A handful of hot new location based social networks (LBS) are already pushing the boundaries between social media and offline socializing. For the most part, LBS networks allow users to “check-in” to real life places using the GPS built into smart phones. Users are able to see where their friends are in real time, and most of these networks incorporate a gaming element that adds an incentive to get out more and to check-in to many places.

These networks have been heating up lately. Foursquare has been getting the lion’s share of hype and recently broke 750,000 users. In fact, Mashable called Foursquare the Twitter of 2010. Rival Mytown boasts over 500,000 users while Gowalla, Loopt and Whrrl are also making headway. The numbers are growing, but these are still fringe networks.

LBS have already been embraced by tech-savvy urbanites, but will they go mainstream? I think it’ll take some time, but these services are pushing at the future of social media. They’re a bit too dorky at the moment; one of the major goals of Foursquare is to become the mayor of an establishment by checking in a lot. This doesn’t appeal to everyone. However, we’re social creatures, and this taps into a whole new realm of socializing previously closed off to social media: the time we spend away from our computers.

Here are some of the benefits of incorporating location with social media for businesses as well as individual users:

• Location based advertising

• Location based coupons/promotions

• Keeping track of children

• Keeping in touch with friends

• Locations based alerts, this could be everything from public service announcements to tips from friends

• Location based gaming

Some businesses already give incentives to win mayorship of their businesses, like free pastries or coffee to the mayor of a coffee shop. There’s a whole world of possibilities for marketing, sales, convenience and, of course, fun.

Beyond the nerdy aspects to these games, the major obstacle at the moment is the fact that most people don’t have smart phones, which are necessary to run LBS networks. Privacy issues are a major concern with these services, but like other social networks that have come before, compromises are made and life goes on. I predict that as technologies develop and more and more people carry around more powerful technological devices wherever they go, social media will increasingly infiltrate the time we spend away from the computer. Researchers have already experimented with placing electronic displays on contact lenses. Imagine if those lenses were connected to wifi receivers?

We’re not there yet, but social media will move beyond the laptop. Facebook will soon add geolocation elements to its service, and I bet location will become a significant aspect to the company in the near future. Ultimately, it’s entertainment that drives social media forward. And interacting with the offline world through online technologies can be really fun.