Checking in just got fun

I know I’m a little late in joining the social media tool Foursquare, but that’s because I didn’t fully understand it until recently. I had always thought of it as shared GPS where everyone in the “foursquare world” knew exactly where you were at all times. A little creepy if you ask me. Then in my COMM 3309 class, one of my peers shared that there are deals that are exclusive for Foursquare users. As a college student there aren’t many things that I enjoy more than staying up all night writing papers. But I do love a good deal. I have accounts with all the major on-line deal sites (Groupon and Living Social) in multiple cities, I use Foursquare for exclusive deals and now I’m a member of Facebook Deals. Sometimes I feel like I’m a coupon cutting mom, but without the mom jeans.

Since one of my majors is business, I am prone to looking at things from a business perspective; and Foursquare is no different. I think it is a great tool in driving new customers to your business. This social media tool, allows exclusive specials that could persuade a new customer to try the service, and hopefully create repeated business. I know that if I was thinking about a place to eat, I would be more inclined to try the restaurant that would give me a 10% discount.

One of the biggest concerns with Foursquare is “who can see my check-ins?” Foursquare’s network is created though friendship requests. Therefore, you have complete control over who can see your check-ins. I’ve only been on Foursquare for a couple of weeks; however, I don’t pay that much attention to where my friends are checking into. I might be more interested if I saw a check-in at a location that I had never heard of before because it might be a place that I would like to try. However, seeing were everyone is at all times isn’t my primary concern. This is due to the point system on the social media application. Every time you check-in, you earn points. Points are used to compete against your friends for the top spot. My competitive side loves this part of the application. If you check-in to a new location, you earn more points. This prompts any user to go to (and try) new places. This is another reason why businesses should have foursquare specials to drive business because foursquare users want to try new places.

Of course, foursquare isn’t the only check-in application available. Here is a list of the other apps:

Gowalla: Gowlla is very similar to Foursquare. This app is focused on building your “passport”. The passport is a collection of stamps that you earn from places that you go. As the website puts is “it’s pretty much like stamping your passport in real life. Only without the jetlag and customs forms.” Like Foursquare, Gowalla allows users to connect and share images with their Facebook and Twitter friends. Users can also view their friend’s locations on a computer and on their phones. From what I learned from the site is that Gowalla uses their references of National Geographic and USA Today to help guide their users in International locations. The application also issues “pins” that are added to their stamps when they complete different achievements. All of a user’s friends on this site can see the each other’s stamps and pins.

Google Latitude: Google is trying to expand their brand by going into the check-in app business too. Google Latitude offers users to see where their friends are on a map in real time. It is also the only app that allows users to control privacy settings for each friend. This could be Google’s solution to fix the “creepy” factor that is associated with checking-in. This app has special features only available for the iPhone and Android, while the other sites offer universal features for most smartphones. What I found unique about Google Latitude is “background updating.” This is a feature that will automatically check users in, even if the app is closed. The only problem I see with this is that many locations are in close together and can the app tell which store you are in? Google Latitude also offers exclusive deals. However, if you only use background updating, then how will you know if you earned a deal?

Facebook: Of course, if it’s a trend in the world of social media, there will be a version of it on Facebook. The popular social media site has the most basic of all the check-in apps. Facebook allows a user to tag friends they are with and it appears on their wall. By having the post appear on a user’s wall, it promotes their friends to post comments for “like” the check-in. However, for this site, there are no deals that can be unlocked, pictures to share, or points/stamps to earn. In my opinion, the app on Facebook is for beginners who don’t know about the other social media sites and apps.

Whrrl: Whrrl was another app that focused on creating societies through check-ins. I will not go into much more detail because Whrrl was bought out by Groupon and the site is being shut down. I wonder if Groupon will use the technology to create a new check-in app.

I think checking-in is an interesting trend. It opens doors for users to try new places that they wouldn’t try otherwise. Also, I think that the database that these sites have on all check-in users would provide vital information to marketing companies about the specific habits of a target market.

Since this technology isn’t widely used yet (I’m the only one out of my closest friends that uses Foursquare) specials are not offered at every business. But if we all started to use this technology, do you think that more companies would be inclined to offer specials?

To all of you who still think that this technology is creepy, think about this: our locations are already being tracked by companies through the GPS capabilities on our phones, so why not use one of these apps and at least have some fun with it? What do you have to lose?

Searching the Social Web

In chapter 19 of Engage, Brain Solis describes some search engines for social media. Most of these tools were new to me since I always turn to Google first. Here are a tools that I thought were worth highlighting.

Search Engines:

Like I said I typically use Google to do all of my searches. But Solis discussed another search engine called Collecta. “Collecta is the first true real-time search engine that monitors not just Twitter but the update streams of new sites, popular blogs, and social media sites” (Solis, 235). To me it seems like a Yahoo pipe for the entire internet through one search.

Microblogs:

“FriendFeed is a microblog that aggregates content from multiple networks into one easy-to-follow collective system” (Solis, 236). From what I ready, FriendFeed is similar to TweetDeck, except owned by Facebook. The microblog makes it easier to share, follow, comment and like you and your friends activity on a variety of social media sites. So if you don’t want to have multiple tabs open on a web browser, this microblog is for you.

Finding Jobs through Social Media

I recently found an article that discussed how people searching for jobs can find them easily through a social media tool such as a company’s Facebook or Twitter account. Even though this seems like an easy way to find jobs, not many people are using these resources. Which seems counteractive, because if you were searching for a social media job, shouldn’t you follow the company on social media? It would then give you access to their current strategy and give you (as an interviewee) suggestions on how to better the company’s image.

I can understand why someone would avoid following a company; it gives the company a direct link to you, which may not be the best representation of yourself. However, you need to consider the possible benefits and the chance that a company will probably list a social media job on these sites before they post it anywhere else. So it would be beneficial for anyone searching for a job to go directly to the source.

** http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110424/BUSINESS/104240513/Job-leads-can-spring-from-social-media-sites?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

Is A Status Update Worth Losing a Job?

In the book, Engage, I read about individuals who were fired because they complained about clients through social media. Since this isn’t professional and it reflects poorly on the brand, it makes complete sense for them to have been terminated. However, I can’t help but wonder the context of these comments; because if it was typical gossip, that every employee takes part in, if the punishment was unjust.

It is standard knowledge that companies and bosses check their employees Facebook and Twitter accounts. However, I think that some (younger) employees can push the envelope to see what they can get away with on-line by posting party pictures or even rude comments about the company. And I wonder since so many users are already accustomed to posting just about everything they like and dislike, and could possibly forget that they are being monitored and make a nasty comment. The question is: should an employee be fired over one comment?

I think it depends on the situation. If the employee is directly tied to the company then yes, something will need to be done as soon as possible in order to protect the company. However if it someone who probably made one mistake (because they were having a bad day) and is low on the corporate chain, then I feel like that punishment would be too harsh. Personally, I don’t know which is right. All I know is that I wouldn’t want to be fired over something I posted, so I always try not to publish anything that I will regret later.

Facebook Depression

In Bloomberg Businessweek, I came across an article that depicted the positive and negative effects of social media on children. As with adults, children are able to connect easily with friends and family through social media. But a report from Pediatrics stated “that more than half of adolescents log on to a social media Web site at least once a day, and nearly one-quarter of teens say they log on to their favorite social media sites 10 or more times each day”. Of course, this leads to all sorts of potential problems such as cyber-bulling, but the article illustrated a term that I wasn’t aware of: Facebook Depression.

Facebook Depression exhibits all the same signs; lack of sleep, change in eating habbits, ect. But this type of depression is caused though social media tools.  For example, a child could be at risk if their friends do not write on their wall, which can cause them to feel socially isolated. While this may be true, Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe told CSPAN, “Facebook is really a magnifier. You're not going to catch something on Facebook, but Facebook tends to amplify any of our insecurities or anything we're feeling good about." She said that "it appears that it's the kids who are already heading toward true clinical depression that have the Facebook depression situation. It's not the normal kid who's going to have clinical depression occur because of Facebook”.  

Multiple personality disorder according to Brian Solis

In Brian Soilis’ book, Engage, he discusses the potential problems of companies having a presence on-line. One of these hazards is “multiple personality disorder”. The author describes is as “the inevitability of a brand identity crisis […] caused by the proliferation and saturation of online presences untethered from a centralized strategy” (130). In other words, when social media sites for a company rise, there is a greater chance of sending a message unrelated to the corporate strategy.
Some of the most recent cases of multiple personality disorder were found on Twitter. For example, Kenneth Cole went against his corporate social media goal to make a joke about current events, which inevitably backfired on him. Other cases were caused from employee’s mixing up their personal and professional accounts.
Thankfully, Solis discloses a few tips for prevention. He points out that all Dell profiles are Firstname@Dell. This allows their company to be more personable and has these profiles made to maintain relationships with customers. This separates the professional and personal content and messages, keeping the changes of a crisis from arising. While this is a good strategy, it does not prevent against an employee mixing up their accounts. Do you think there is a way to avoid this or is it just a risk that a company will make if they want to have a presence on-line?

Foursquare Isn’t Just A Kid’s Game

I know I’m a little late in joining the social media tool Foursquare, but that’s because I didn’t fully understand it until recently. I had always thought of it as shared GPS where everyone in the “foursquare world” knew exactly where you were at all times. A little creepy if you ask me. Then in my COMM 3309 class, one of my peers shared that there are deals that are exclusive for Foursquare users. As a college student there aren’t many things that I enjoy more than staying up all night writing papers. But do love a good deal.

Since one of my majors is business, I am prone to looking at things from a business perspective; and Foursquare is no different. I think it is a great tool in driving new customers to your business. This social media tool, allows exclusive specials that could persuade a new customer to try the service, and hopefully create repeated business. I know that if I was thinking about a place to eat, I would be more inclined to try the restaurant that would give me a 10% discount.

Since this technology isn’t widely used yet (I’m the only one out of my closest friends that uses Foursquare) specials are not offered at every business. But if we all started to use this technology, do you think that more companies would be inclined to offer specials?