Foursquare, the location based social network, is purported to be the next big social media phenomenon despite ongoing privacy concerns.   Launched just last year in only a few cities around the world, Foursquare now has over 400,000 unique visitors (in January).  Since September there has been a steep increase  in activity as users catch on to this popular social networking game and this is only expected to grow since Foursquare went global last month.

Foursquare Growth

Playing Foursquare

Foursquare allows users to check in from their mobile phones when they are out and about at dinner, sports venues, tourist venues and even at the hairdresser.  As a user, each time you check in to a location you are awarded points.

Once you start accumulating points or visiting locations frequently you are awarded badges and titles (I am the Mayor of Stock Up, one of my favorite places to have lunch in Kerrisdale).   Foursquare apps are available for download to most major smart phones (iPhone,  Blackberry, Android and Palm Pre.).

If you think it sounds like more of a game than a serious business network, you are right but if your business is location based, it is a game you really should be taking seriously.   A little friendly competition can do wonders to bring people back to your location again and again and so businesses are beginning to clue in to the loyalty potentially and Foursquare as a tool to spread awareness: many businesses are offering incentives to those who become mayor and to visitors who offer tips about the location.

Foursquare Tips for Business

1. Make sure you are listed on Foursquare.  The best way to do this is by joining the community, downloading the phone app and adding a venue from there (read this post from Dave Tailor for more detail on how to do so).

2. Consider offering incentives for those who visit frequently and sign up with Foursquare to promote these.  Every time someone signs in to your location, their followers see this, so the more Foursquare visitors you have the better – its like free advertising!

3. Monitor Foursquare to see who is visiting and especially to track tips.  Foursquare users can provide tips about your location and since this is user driven you may want to reward positive tips and be prepared to go to bat if someone posts something negative.  Most of the tips I have seen to date are positive.

My Perspective

I have been playing around with Foursquare for a few months and it is fun but so far I haven’t been rewarded for my patronage – here’s hoping this post changes that!

Frustrated at the longer anticipated wait for sushi the other week, I posted this warning others to factor in time but there has been no response to that either.

Since Out-Smarts is virtual and not location based, we’re not on there but we do encourage all businesses to be aware of what Foursquare is, to make sure they are listed and to keep an eye on what is being said about their business.  If Foursquare does take off, as it is predicted to, then more and more of your clients will be using this tool to share their nights out, business meetings and fun.

After a brief hiatus in December, our regular month end Reasons to be Cheerful post is back.  Here is a compendium of cool sites I discovered over the past few weeks that might of interest or useful for you.  Enjoy!

Screenr - easily create screencasts to post to Twitter.

Lifeforce TV – Canada’s online broadcast network.

Biddingo – an online portal that connects suppliers providing various goods and services to buyers from public and private sectors across Canada.

Xina – handy tool for checking how your SEO efforts stack up.

Entreprenuerial Woman Magazine – online journal aimed at Canadian small business.

Rollip – professional, online photo effects.

Welcome to 2010 and our first blog post of the new year.  I hope you had a great festive season and that you are raring to go in 2010.

2010 Predictions

I thought this would be a good opportunity to review our social media predictions for 2009 (to see how on the ball I was) and to make some new ones for 2010.  (Clips in red are from last year’s predictions).

Social Media

2009 was the year when social media really took off, Oprah helped take Twitter to the masses and everyone and their dog started using social media tools.  However, there is some disillusionment now as folks realize, after spinning their wheels for a while that, to be effective using social media, you have to have a strategy. 2010 will be the year that social media becomes an integral part of organisations’ marketing and business development strategies and not simply a stand alone tool.

According to Compete.com visitor counts to both Twitter and Friendfeed peaked in late summer (Friendfeed seing a rather drastic decline after announcing their acquisition by Facebook in August interestingly enough). I hope that 2010 brings added functionality to Twitter (that top layer I have been dreaming about that puts all that great content to better use and makes it more accessible).   Brightkite never really reached the heights I predicted but competitor Foursquare did (arriving in Vancouver in the summer).

Geo Based Networks

In 2010 geo based social networks like Foursquare will continue to grow in popularity but more importantly, these offerings will become more sophisticated allowing both business and users to benefit more from their use.

Also on the mobile front, watch out for more digital advertising.  In November I blogged about The Future Of Advertising, introducing offerings like ScanLife and Kooaba.  In 2010 we will see these being put to use more and the promotions will become more interactive.

Whilst smart phone sales continued to grow in 2009, I expect that the iPhone will be less dominant as the Android really takes off in 2010.  I got one last month (HTC) and LOVE it!

Apps

For 2009, I didn’t predict the growth of the smart phone app: the number of iPhone apps doubled in the first six months of the year.  With Android’s growth and open nature, this phenomenon will continue in 2010 and beyond.  So start thinking about using apps that can help you in business, or developing apps that can help you reach your audience.

Newsletter Renaissance

In 2010 I predict we will see a newsletter renaissance as marketers realize that: a) email is still one of the best ways to reach their audience (you have their permission after all) and b) blogs don’t replace e-newsletters and are often aimed at completely different audiences.  I also think that we will continue to see blogs being used in ways other than for posting articles i.e. blog outreach, blog comments and community building.

Be More Social and Less “Me” Centric

Which leads me to one wish I have for 2010 with regard to social media.  So many companies and entrepreneurs are still using social media to push out information that is completely me centric ( i.e. links to their own websites and not others).  Wake up and smell the roses peeps!  This is not the 20th century when pushing out information was all you could do.  It is time for you to realise that the key to social media is in the name itself – being social.

In 2010 please interact with others more, build networks and relationships, reach out to new peeps, but most important of all, rather than taking a me centric view, change your focus to hone in on those you want to do business with: interact with these people, find ways to connect, to answer their questions and add value.  Then you will see the true benefit of using social media as part of your marketing or business development strategy.

Here’s to growth, prosperity and being social in 2010.  All the very best.

In the early nineties when I was a rookie sales rep selling software practically the only way to communicate with our head office across the Atlantic in Toronto was to pick up the phone after 2pm and call them. Today, with the ubiquity of the Internet, communication  is much easier.  We have other instant options open to us like email, chat, Skype and social networks making communication much easier. Virtual communication is a breeze.  Or so I thought before I embarked on my recent transatlantic trip. What I forgot to factor off course was reliable Internet connectivity.

Here in Vancouver I take this for granted: every coffee shop has access, I have a wireless connection in the office and at home – its simply not something I give too much thought to and I expected the same to be the case in Europe.  Not so.  My plans for uninterrupted connectivity were thwarted more than once.

I am not sure what its like for visitors coming to North America but as a business tourist in Europe reliable connectivity was a challenge.  I should make it clear that if I was a “traditional” traveler, staying in hotels, my experience would have been different but that was not the case.

First stop on arrival – the Vodaphone Shop where I was pleased to learn that with the aid of a dongle I would soon be wired (as long as I had a credit card  and a permanent UK address for the credit check which being Canadian I didn’t).  Nice Vodafone guy advises me to go to 3.  Hiho, hiho its off to 3 I go.  I do indeed have more luck there and walk out with dongle in hand and 3Gb connection for a small outlay (and a very reasonable one at that) – I am well pleased.  Soon I am connected, via a very slow 2 bar connection but I am in no position to complain.

Next stop on the trip, I try to connect.  I am in the centre of Scotland, one of the most populace areas in Europe surely a reliable signal isn’t too much to expect.  3 fails me and its off to the Internet cafe pound coins clutched in hand  but its shut.  When I do finally get online at my folks place the connection reminds me of the days of dial up surely it can only get better in Spain….

Fast forward to Catalonia and indeed the 3 dongle shows four bars despite the fact I am in the middle of nowhere (more than I ever had in Scotland).  I try to connect via the 3 partner but get a warning message that it might cost up to a pound and 25p per Mb for partner roaming which sounds reasonable.  I click okay and get taken to the 3 site which tells me my credit card is not on file and that I should have provided this up to a week before leaving the UK.

I close my laptop and give up.  Time perhaps to wean myself off of social media at least for a few days and take a well earned break.  Thanks 3 for the vacation and to all of you who missed my blog posts or Twitter updates, I am back and what is more I have speedy wireless Internet connection (which I will never take for granted again) and intend to make up for lost time!

WordCamp Fraser Valley (#wcfv on Twitter) finally happened today. We were proud to sponsor this event and help bring together some of the most talented social media personalities in the Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

The event was held in an unassuming room at the Surrey Campus of Simon Fraser University. In fact, the venue was so modest that I spent the first 30 minutes walking around the area looking for WordCamp Fraser Valley signage, but no. Room 2170, the one holding the event, was yet another classroom in a university.

But it wasn’t about the flare; it was about the talent… and the Timbits. All presenters were remarkable and I wish I could extend my comments on all of them, but would make this post way too long. Most presenters, however, have provided more information through their sites.

First was the Beginner Track

Unfortunately, I didn’t find the place on time and missed Raul Pacheco’s (@hummingbird604)presentation: Accessorize Your Blog: 10 Ways To Maximize Reader Experience. Fortunately, you can check out his presentation on his blog, and I’m sure it’s worth it.

Glenda Watson Hyatt (@GlendaWH)- Wow, what an inspiration. This was the first time I heard a presentation from someone with a disability like Glenda’s: cerebral palsy. Her presentation was delivered through text-to-speech software and it covered blog accessibility.

I’ve heard my share of Web accessibility presentations, but Glenda’s presentation was perhaps the most engaging and helpful of all. I encourage you to check out her presentation published on one of her sites, www.blogaccessibility.com.

Rebecca Bollowitt (@Miss604) presented on the ability of WordPress to work not only as a blogging software, but as a Content Management System as well.  Check out her blog, she also wrote about it.

Then the Intermediate Track

Lorraine Murphy (@raincoaster) presented on blogging for creativity. Indeed, her presentation gave good everyone good ideas. A particular suggestion that many liked is using Tumblr as a scrapbook. Posting random pieces of information to feed of later.

Dave Zille (@dazil) presented on WordPress “custom fields”. If you used WordPress, there’s a good chance you’ve looked at the “custom fields” and wondered, “what the heck is that for?” Well, I don’t use these, and when the time comes, I’ll ask Dave for help – you need some PHP to make them work.

Kulpreet Singh (@KulpreetSingh) was short but to the point. His presentation was shortened because of “technical difficulties” but it was good, concentrated advice. He went through a few tips, tricks and  WordPress plugins to enhance the Dashboard experience: Custom-Post-Template, Custom Write Panel, and Custom Fields GUI were the most important.

On the developer’s track

To be honest, most of the information presented here was over my head. I’m not a developer. Nonetheless, here’s the gist of what they said.

Jeff Kee (@jeffkee) commented on what he calls, “the most powerful plugin for WordPress.” That plugin is Pods. I could explain it, but not really. Sorry.  Check out the plugin’s website instead.

John Biehler (@johnbiehler) talked about WAMP and MAMP. Even though I’m not a developer, I know enough to say, “this is awesome”. They simulate LAMP on Windows and Mac.

George Plumley (@seehowtwo) talked about “Child Themes” for WordPress. Cool stuff for those who know how to make them. Give George a call and ask more about it.

Finally we talked about Twitter

Lastly Gary Jones (@bluefur) and Rainer Schmoll (@thinkreferrals) encouraged everyone to get creative with their brand on Twitter. Without a doubt, @bluefur comes up with pretty entertaining avatars. He also said that, for him, Twitter is not about pushing sales. In fact, he rarely posts links to his site. And it works wonderfully.

All in all, it was a great event. I hope we get to catch you at the next offline opportunity. If I missed anything, feel free to comment on it.