I have been using Foursquare for months now in other cities. [...]]]> 100 cities strong since their last roll out, Foursquare seems to be gaining some traction across the country. Everyone is making their predictions about whether Foursquare is the next Twitter [including me].

I have been using Foursquare for months now in other cities. When it hit my hometown of Charlotte a couple weeks back, I was surprised how many people jumped on. I had 150 friend requests the day after Charlotte was opened.

UNC Charlotte, my alma mater, only took about a week to see the potential of Foursquare on their campus. Last week they became the first University in the country to offer promotions through Foursquare across their campus.

Foursquare Goes to College

I interviewed Brian Baute, IT Director for Business Services at UNC Charlotte, about what their goals are for using Foursquare campus wide.

According to Foursquare, the only other campuses using their promotions are Columbia, who has one promotion running for their campus movie theater, and Harvard who is developing something campus wide.

College students are an interesting niche for testing Foursquare. While they love their smart phones and Facebook, they are not in tune with much else in the social space.

However, Foursquare is similar to Facebook in the fact that it let’s you see up to the second information about your friends. Foursquare is simple in that respect. I can see college students, who are always looking for the next party, latching on to the “where is everybody at” aspect of Foursquare pretty easily.

Foursquare is a location-based social network. Users “Check-in” at venues via mobile phone, find where friends check-in and are then awarded points and sometimes “badges.”

Dead Simple -  There are no photos, videos, comments, or links. It is for you to find where your friends are and discover new places to check [...]]]>

Foursquare is a location-based social network. Users “Check-in” at venues via mobile phone, find where friends check-in and are then awarded points and sometimes “badges.”

Dead Simple -  There are no photos, videos, comments, or links. It is for you to find where your friends are and discover new places to check out. Those two activities are in high demand for most people. Foursquare is more like Facebook than Twitter in one major way, it focuses on your existing friends. It helps you see where they are right now. Or helps you let your friends know where you are. No more strangers passing in the night.

The Game is the Hook – Even though it is simple and offers value, some people just will write it off as one more of many location based social networks. The game helps get people over the hump of why to join. The game will not work for everyone and many lose interests in games over time. But it is a little bit of sugar on top that will entice many to try it. The information will keep them there.

Businesses Get to Play Right Away – Yes, there is great data being collected on Foursquare. And Yes, there will ultimately be ads I suspect for businesses to pay to play. But right now, any business can go in and watch the check-ins at their establishment. Offer promotions and discounts to anyone near their part of town. And interact with existing and potential customers in a new way. Some location based networks have been around for a year or two and still do not have these opportunities.

Made for Mobile – Foursquare is built from the ground up for smart phones. You do not have to go to their website. You can sign up incredibly easily and quickly. The user interface is very clean and intuitive. The locations can be created on the fly very easily. You can access phone numbers for locations and friends when needed. The platform works perfectly on the go, something that, ironically, many location based social networks have not perfected.

Presentation Transcript

I am here as an “official blogger” in the TechSet bloggers’ lounge. So when I checked in, my nametag was labeled as “Press”. In addition, every nametag [...]]]> I am sitting here at the Bloggers’ Lounge at Affiliate Summit East in NYC. AKA where all the Social Media people hangout away from the affiliate people.

I am here as an “official blogger” in the TechSet bloggers’ lounge. So when I checked in, my nametag was labeled as “Press”. In addition, every nametag at Affiliate Summit falls into one of four groups: Agency, Affiliate, Network, and Merchant.

Agency seemed like the best fit for me at the time. I am a consultant and event planner, and I don’t work in affiliate marketing, so I get why there was not a firm fit for me here.

As a blogger, I am starting to be treated like press more and more. I don’t consider myself press but I get it. My audience and authority are growing. And with that growth comes an increased interest from others in leveraging that audience and for me an increased responsibility. The FTC is now taking a closer look at bloggers and social media. Moving to treat them more like press.

The more I blog the more I begin to act like press as well. I interview more. I break news more. I recruit other writers. I consider newsworthiness, audience interests, and considering larger impacts of my writing. My goal is to educate, not to become a media outlet, but the more I blog, I view the lines between these divisions as pretty blurry these days.

Blogging is now a major piece of media as a whole. Most bloggers need to begin paying attention to the journalism side of blogging. PR companies are targeting bloggers more than ever. And brands are also working directly with bloggers. Blogs are more than a publishing platform. They are more and more media platforms. Should this be the goal for every blogger? No, it is not for me. But whether it is sought out, the larger impact of blogging must be considered.

I hope it raises the level of the beer culture in this blue law heavy state. And who doesn’t want to taste a good beer in the grocery [...]]]> I’m thrilled to see North Carolina is on the verge of approving a bill that will “permit beer companies to hold tasting sessions in food stores.”

I hope it raises the level of the beer culture in this blue law heavy state. And who doesn’t want to taste a good beer in the grocery store?

The product sample is an old marketing method and is about the lowest barrier to entry you can give the customer. Take the concept online, and the economy of free really negates the free sample, or more correctly, is an extreme extension of the free sample.

Consider all the free content you produce online as a taste of your full personality or company culture, a sample of what you have to offer as a person or business.

What Does Your Culture Taste Like?

The entire art of writing a blog is a free sample of your business or personality, a taste. You are sharing insights and stories for free, as an investment in your audience. So what does this sample taste like?

How are your readers remembering you? Does your content taste like everything else that is out there? Is it refreshing? Is it a deep, strong flavor?

One thing I have had to get better and better at as a blogger is writing as a person and not as a journalist. I think the best blogs share a lot of personality and culture of the writer or company. A personal touch builds more of a relationship, more of an investment.

photo credit: dave apple