What’s With Foursquare?

So if you aren’t familiar, a “relatively new” network, Foursquare is getting a lot of attention.

Foursquare is basically a mobile app, which when activated, determines locations close to where you are and allows you to “check-in.” When you check-in you are able to notify your network (those who follow you on Foursquare and you can also integrate your Facebook and Twitter accounts) of your whereabouts and your status. As you check-in more frequently, you unlock “badges,” which show users your use frequency and you can also compete for mayorship of specific places (mayors are those who frequently check-in at particular businesses). Becoming a “mayor” and keeping the status can become a friendly competition between users!

The focus when creating this network was to make networked activity local and mobile, and incorporate a game-like competitive quality to encourage use/information sharing. Participants are rewarded the more they participate and “check-in” at venues. The push notification technology component allows users to let their friends know their location and remind friends when they are one step away from competing for “mayorship.”  As businesses look to incentivize activity within their inetworks, they may include rewards, which encourage friendly competition and of course in-store traffic. Foursquare “coupons” can be implemented and serve as an integrated rewards system.

The Foursquare application also allows users to review a venue in which they visited and encourages users to read others’ submissions. It also provides the option to read the reviews posted on Yelp and Tweets from nearby Tweeters. This tool can be integral in mobile decision making and can encourage users to try new venues if reviews are positive. …and of course, the opposite if reviews are terrible.

As Foursquare continues to develop, capabilities will increase and it is definitely an app to watch when considering your strategic mobile and social plan.

To read more, visit the recently published Inc. Magazine article .

Jen Cohen is a social media and marketing maven knocked down many times in 26 yrs. Something Creative http://somethingcreativemarketing.com

http://www.socialmediamarketing.com/blog

WHERE Launches Local/Mobile Ad Network

A top mobile service harnesses its strengths to compete in the mobile ad space.

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Outsell forecasts that online spending will overtake print in 2010


According to Outsell, spending on online advertising and marketing will overtake print in 2010 for the first time. The research and advisory firm's annual forecast predicts companies will spend $119.6 billion on online and digital strategies, from search engine keywords to webinars, while committing $111.5 billion to print media such as newspaper and magazine ads this year.

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8 Google Updates from the Past 8 Days

Catching up on a week of new stuff from the GOOG.

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Web Analytics Association Names Mike Levin as Executive Director

Previously the executive director of the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), Mike Levin has been tapped in the same role - but this time at the Web Analytics Association (WAA).

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Allison Schwam is Skiing Her Way to Search Success

Prepare to be green with envy.

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Making sense of conversations on Twitter

Launching today, Tweetshare lets you have Twitter conversations around any piece of content

David SparkThe annoying aspect of Twitter is that it’s really difficult to follow conversations. There’s nothing inherent to Twitter that makes it easy for you to backtrack a conversation. What many people use for conversation tracking is hashtags, and then searching on the hashtags. Problem with hashtags is they’re not threaded so you can’t see specifically how one person responded to another. Nor can you see the beginning of the conversation.

One service I’ve used before that’s a good solution is Twitoaster, which allows you to follow conversations that you initiate, or someone else initiates. It’s pretty good if you ask a question and you want to follow everyone’s answer to it, but it’s hard to back track a tweet up to its source.

Following conversations is necessary because so many people send out tweets that don’t reference what they’re talking about beyond the @ reply.

Launching today is a new service called Tweetshare, which allows you to have Twitter conversations around any piece of content, whether it’s an HD video, picture, Word document, or anything else. Load the content, and then tweet it out from Tweetshare. The automatically included link takes readers of your tweet back to the Tweetshare space where the content resides. Each response you give includes that Tweetshare space link, allowing everyone to be in the same space talking about the piece of content. As you would with a blog or website, you can create a branded Tweetshare page to post all your tweetable content.

Tweetshare is also a brand new client of mine, and I’ll be attending SXSW next week shooting videos for Tweetshare and posting them to their tweetable zones. I invite all of you to participate then, but feel free to try out the service now. All you need to do is log in with your Twitter account.

But I’m interested in knowing what services you use to follow Twitter conversations. Do you use any, or do you just use search? Or do you don’t even bother because it’s far too complicated?David Spark helps businesses grow by developing thought leadership through storytelling and covering live events at Spark Media Solutions. He blogs at The Spark Minute and can be heard and seen regularly on ABC Radio, Cranky Geeks with John C. Dvorak, and KQED in San Francisco. See his business profile, contact David, or leave a comment below.

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New MSN Homepage Begins Rolling Out Today

It will take a few weeks.

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Will Google Buzz Become Relevant?

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Gravity Summit where I had the chance to learn about how business professionals were using social media. Among the many topics that were discussed at the summit, one topic in particular was brought up on a few occasions. That topic was Google Buzz . For many professionals in attendance, the question they wanted to know was whether or not Google Buzz would become relevant. As it is, Facebook and Twitter are big question marks for some businesses because of the simple fact that companies don’t want to jump too far into something if there is a chance it will disappear in a year or two.

So the question now is what do you do? If you are a business owner or a marketing professional, how will Google Buzz play into your campaigns?

People Don’t Like Google Buzz

An easy way to asses the future of Google Buzz is to see what people are saying about it right now.

While there have been many supporters and fans of it, it seems that there are many more that dislike it. One area in particular that left a bad taste in the mouth of users was that Google already populated a users Google Buzz followers list. While to Google this may have seemed like a ‘convenient’ move, in reality it made users feel like there privacy was violated. One argument that has been made is that Google Buzz allowed content and comments that you may not have wanted your employer to see the ability to access it.

Aside from the privacy issues that Google Buzz has been under fire for, another area that users have been questioning is why they should use it. While the immediate advantage of using Google Buzz is that you never have to leave your ‘workspace’ on Gmail, does the value go further than that? Users have already begun comparing Google Buzz to Facebook live feeds and are asking themselves if it’s worth the switch. Although Google does cut down the need to go migrate to Facebook or Twitter to get updates, replacing them as a community tool still seems to be up in the air.

When It Will Be Relevant

For anything to become relevant in a business sense, it must create value. For Facebook, it allows users to stay connected with one friends and family. On Twitter, users can explore business opportunities, make friends, and share content. For Google Buzz though, the value proposition that offers is still being questioned. Until Google Buzz can prove that it has impact value as far as reaching users and communities, Google Buzz will remain a giant question mark.

For the time being, companies should be mindful of Google Buzz as it is sure to have upgrades and improvements as they receive more feedback on their product. Remember that Facebook and Twitter were once considered giant question marks and are now larger than life it seems. Perhaps it just a matter of time before Google Buzz joins in on the party.

Joseph is the Director of Marketing at Viralogy.com & works in social media & sports consulting. Read more about him at http://JosephAYi.com

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End of the resume, rise of the super user

David SparkWhether you’re looking to get hired, or you’re looking for A+ talent, you want to be seen as or want to be looking for super users.

This 14-minute live presentation was given at the Dice event at The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. In the presentation I explain the super user model and give examples of how companies have found, built relationships with, and hired super users.

What do you think? Do you think the 8 ½ x 11 paper resume has any future in the age of social media? If you want to get hired, become a super user. Attach yourself to a brand and/or industry. Create, share, and build relationships with industry members and other super users. And if you’re a company looking for talent, look to super users. They’re highly visible and passionate. You’ll find they’re an excellent source for marketing, staffing, and business development.David Spark helps businesses grow by developing thought leadership through storytelling and covering live events at Spark Media Solutions. He blogs at The Spark Minute and can be heard and seen regularly on ABC Radio, Cranky Geeks with John C. Dvorak, and KQED in San Francisco. See his business profile, contact David, or leave a comment below.

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