
Welcome to the year “twenty ten!” Make sure you start the year off right by reading this article about the grammatically correct way of saying “2010.” Or, check out www.TwentyNot2000.com
In this first edition of Social Media News, I want to talk about a growing fad called FourSquare. The user base of FourSquare pales in comparison to say Twitter, but I’ve touched on the geo-location social networking service in a few blog posts (the first one in my 9/11/09 post), and I believe it’s definitely worth taking notice. FourSquare allows registered uses to “check-in” at restaurants and retail establishments, or any place that has a physical address, and the service will allow users to keep track of their history and the whereabouts of their friends. Currently, apps are available for iPhone, Android, and now PalmPre. The user with the most check-ins will become the “Mayor” of that establishment, a designation that holds little value other than bragging rights.
Restaurants hip to social marketing are now exploring FourSquare promotions, such as giving discounts to their Mayors. Today, yours truly has been crowned the Mayor of Dunkin’ Donuts, and here’s hoping I can get a free coffee out of it! FourSquare promos can be used as a free distribution channel for coupons and discounts, and also spur competition between potential Mayors- who are probably your biggest local brand advocates.
Remember when I mentioned Google Caffeine way back in an August blog post? Probably not, so here’s a refresher. Google has been working on “secret project” called Google Caffeine to update how Google finds content on the web by improving the search algorithms. Though the average user won’t notice a huge difference, it’s important to note because it does change how Google indexes news and social media. Read more at TechCrunch here.
I’m an AT&T customer, and I hate AT&T. So I’m very pleased to share this snippet of AT&T’s folly in social media during the brief hours iPhones were unavailable on the AT&T website:
Something worth noting is AT&T has a responsive, stellar public relations team that uses a Twitter account, a YouTube channel and a Facebook page to interact with the media and consumers. The story could’ve been defused in a matter of minutes with a clear, believable explanation. Instead, AT&T used its PR to respond with an empty statement, leaving the world guessing the reasons for the suspension of iPhone sales in New York.
Read the full article– AT&T: The Communications Company That Failed to Communicate in 2009.
Ad Age
What We Can Learn From the Top Viral Videos of 2009
Gmail Points to Possibilities of the Coming Data Decade
Planning Your Next Move in Ad Land
Fast Company
What Can We Expect From the Consumer Electronics Show?
Uh-oh — Robots Can Learn and Generalize
Geotagging’s Seasonal Danger: Burglary
Is Google-AdMob Deal Bad for Consumers and Apple?
TechCrunch
Cheap Beer If You Check-In… Or Just Tweet
At Foursquare Venues, the Mayor Eats For Free
Google Is About To Get Caffeinated With A Faster Search Index
Privacy Theater: Why Social Networks Only Pretend To Protect You
Meebo Launches Self-Serve Meebo Bar, Takes A Look Back At Its Big Year
World Map of Social Networks Shows Rise of Facebook
Blippy Already Showing Off $1 Million Worth of Your Credit Card Purchases
The Rumors Are True: We Spend More And More Time Online
Mashable
In 2010, Your iPhone Could be a Credit Card Reader
REVEALED: The 100 Most Social Brands of 2009
BROWSER WARS: Google Chrome Overtakes Apple’s Safari
Foursquare Launches on Palm Pre
HOW TO: Do Almost Anything Online in 2010
Wired
AT&T: The Communications Company That Failed to Communicate in 2009
Boxee Beta Is a Web Video Streamer’s Dream
MySpace Replaces Embedded Imeem Playlists With Ads
Reports: AT&T Stops Some iPhone Sales in NYC (Update)
Blogs and Other News Sources
Google Nexus One Sold Directly and Only by Google, Officially Supported By T-Mobile (Gizmodo)
Apple Dominates Social Brand Ranking (Brandweek)