EXPLORING GEO-SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR URBAN STUDIES

Social media became part of the fabric of everyday life around the world. People have embraced social media in both simple ways-connecting with networks and sharing images or exploring cities. Services such as Foursquare provide us rich databases that hold digital geo-marks of our communications. This paper discusses on geo-social networking, the meanings of the Foursquare check-ins by tracing the spatial behavior of users. Spatial search engine as Foursquare can give past check-in history and past mobility. Mapping social networks worth studying. The discussion will be enhanced with some examples on the districts of Istanbul, Turkey. The check-in statistics will be compared according to recent years. Top 10 venues will be categorized according to the landuse characteristics. Also Ankara check-ins tell the density of the best places in the maps of city center. These empirical studies help city planners to understand the dynamics of the city and draw a social cartography.