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Replies to post #637 on EQUITIES IRHub
Shades of The Island of Dr. Moreau! (hint: Google H.G. Wells) Modern-day mad scientists (let’s call them “software developers”) have been merging social networking concepts with a range of other technologies and rolling out new hybrid beasts that could eventually change your marketing and public relations strategies.
One that we’re keeping a close eye on here is a species known as “location based social networking” (LBSN) – combining short message service (SMS), aspects of gaming, smartphone technologies and GPS capabilities.
Location-based Race
A number of competitors are active in this marketplace. You might have heard of or use Gowalla, Foursquare, Facebook Places, or forerunner Brightkite – free services that allow users to “check in” and announce their location to others through an app downloaded to their phone or via SMS text message. Users can earn rewards for exploring new places and doing interesting new things, and can leave tips, reviews and recommendations for others who later check in.
Early on, some of these services were available only in the largest metropolitan markets around the world. Successes there have caused them to open access to locations everywhere. They’re becoming more business-focused as well, seeing the huge potential to match businesses eager for customers with nearby LBSN members in the process of choosing their next stop.
Why you should care
Certainly, any business that would like to grow its reputation as a local hotspot or mustn’t-miss tourist destination can immediately see the possibilities here. Imagine a visitor to Rapid City relaxing in their hotel room and using Foursquare through their iPhone (or Droid or Blackberry) to see if people in their network have recommendations for restaurants or activities, and to look for discounts and incentives from places nearby.
And Foursquare might indeed be the one they’ll be using. Business buzz is that Foursquare is currently best positioned to break out of the pack and follow the Facebook and Twitter trajectory to “new household word” status.
Foursquare users earn points for checking in at locations and the person with the most points attached to a particular venue becomes its “mayor” – which affords them bragging rights and sometimes nifty rewards. Users can also find and unlock “badges” earned by checking in at various locations or performing certain tasks.
This is one of the fun aspects of the network and an ongoing incentive to stay engaged with Foursquare. In October of this year, astronaut Doug Wheelock unlocked the NASA Explorer badge by checking into Foursquare from the International Space Station. Back here on earth, you’ll see references to it popping up in a number of locations — like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal websites, and your local Rapid City Walgreens.
So if you get a new smartphone, download a LBSN app and give it a try. If you want to promote your business this way, give us a call.
(and BTW — if your brother-in-law soon smugly confides that Foursquare could just be the next Twitter – you can now yawn and say . . . “oh yeah, I already heard that.”)
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