Posts Tagged ‘Foursquare’

If you haven’t at least heard of Facebook and Twitter, you have probably been living under a rock — or in denial. But as quickly as you get used to the ins and out of the most popular social media sites, more are on the rise. And these sites want to know where you are, where you’re going and where you’ve been.

Welcome to the location-based social networks, such as Foursquare — which I have previously discussed in another post. I tried out Foursquare — and I while I’m not super familiar with it, I can see the appeal. You “check in” to businesses and other locations in real time, and many places are now offering special perks for their most frequent visitor — called the “mayor” — and others who check in.

But what about Blippy? Customers can tell their friends about the products that they buy through this site, which links merchant accounts to broadcast members’ purchases to the world. Blippy lets you communicate about and share purchases with friends by syncing already existing e-commerce accounts to Blippy such as iTunes, Netflix, Woot, eBay and more.

And then you’ve got TagWhat, which takes a leap into the world of Augmented Reality (AR). It allows people to tag real-world locations and attach information, reviews, links, photos, videos, notes and so on to those particular spots, whether tied to their current location or not. Users can also follow other people and merge their respective ‘markers’ together in an effort to build a global network of augmented reality hotspots.

A little overwhelming, right? Well, maybe it’s best to start with a toe in the ever-changing social media pool instead of taking a flying leap headfirst. But whatever you do, start swimming!

Not these days it isn’t. I remember the days of playing the game outside at school — also know as squareball. Today, Foursquare is a web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Users “check-in” at venues using text messaging or a device specific application. They are then awarded points and sometimes “badges.”

Is this the next big thing? As it closes in on one million users this month, Foursquare is being pursued by Internet giant Yahoo Inc., which has offered as much as $125 million for Foursquare. Must be a must have!

It’s a new way for you and your friends to explore your city — and it’s available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm and other devices. Have you tried it yet? And Foursquare Day was officially declared on 4/16: 4 squared = 16. 4/16.  Get it?

Ideas for how businesses can use Foursquare to enhance marketing efforts and generate leads are already appearing:

• Create incentives for new customers
• Offer promotions, contests and giveaways
• Maximize the success of events

With three million users expected by the end of the summer, it looks like Foursquare is for real.

Is change a good thing? Or maybe is TOO much change a good thing? I just listened to a Webinar about a change in our e-mail distribution system. And there have been several re-designs to the almighty Facebook, from an added newsfeed to a new layout to countless new applications. New blogs are started daily. The list of social media and social networking sites is seemingly endless and continues to grow.

How can you keep track of it all — and do you want to? As soon as you learn the ins and outs of one site or one blog or one technology, it seems a re-design is right around the corner or a new product is on the horizon. And then you have to re-learn something new all over again. Many users don’t like change, and as a product becomes more popular, users may grow ever more resistant to change.

An article in TIME said, “Perhaps what civilization needs is a NOT-SO-FAST button. In the aging population of the developed world, many people are already tired of trying to keep up with the latest cool new tech. The market for change could dry up, and lock-in might again become the norm.”

Try telling that to the 300,000 customers that purchased the new iPad on the very first day they went on sale. And you won’t hear that from the 500,000 users on Foursquare, which some label the “new Facebook.”

So I guess if you can’t beat em, join em — or get left behind in the flurry of new technology.