Aug
31

Higher Education Checks Into Foursquare

by Feedback

A few interesting higher education-related news today show the emergence of “place” and geolocation as an interesting angle and channel for communicating with and meaningfully engaging new students.

First up, the University of Oregon spiced up Welcome Week with an interesting use of Tips, a special school-only badge and a self-guided tour of campus. About Foursquare gives details:

As part of the “Grand Tour,” the Oregon Duck has left tips around campus that will highlight some features of campus that students may not know about…Students who friend the Oregon Duck and check in at all 10 locations with tips on Friday, September 24 can show their checkin history to redeem a real-life InDUCKted badge. The badge is good for 20% on Oregon Ducks sportswear at the Duck Store.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is using a microsite in conjunction with Foursquare to encourage students to visit alcohol-free businesses in the area. The effort includes special deals for the students checking in and promotional opportunities for the participating local businesses.

This isn’t the first time colleges have embraced Foursquare as a means to encourage students to interact with their environment. Recently Foursquare made custom badges for Harvard to correspond with custom tips, info and of course to allow officials to track participation.

“Harvard is more than classrooms and buildings. It is an interconnected community of people, ideas, and experiences, and we are actively pursuing ways to enhance those connections,” said Perry Hewitt, director of digital communications and communications services for Harvard Public Affairs and Communications.

What better assets to combine than a tech savvy community and a collection of buildings in an educational realm constantly under evolution away from brick-and-mortar. The concept of “place” online helps marry the importance of physical location with the information flow of the virtual space.

Oddly enough, despite the recent debut of Facebook Places, Facebook simply Facebook debuted Facebook Universities, a special Page dedicated for interacting with the facets of your educational community except for Place and dumps you immediately on the “Deals” tab – so you can interact with sponsored brands before you get to your provost. Sigh. We assume there’s more to how colleges can use Places and of course there will be check-ins regardless.

How next Fall will look for colleges and universities, when the hundreds of millions of Facebook check-in and Foursquare and others are only more rampant, will be the true test. How will your institution watch, research, strategize and take advantage of these trends? Throw us a line, we can help.

-Dean (@dbrowell)

P.S. We would like to lift up one of our favorite blogs, “About Foursquare” which is one of the quickest to deliver media sites on Foursquare developments. Check it out.

af


Aug
18

Everything In Its Right Place? Facebook Places

by Feedback

Some things are simply inevitable.

The sun will come up.

Charles Barkley will say something unintentionally hilarious.

Facebook will emulate what it doesn’t buy.

On the latter point, Wednesday evening Facebook debuted Places. The premise and execution of Facebook Places is remarkably similar to the first two sentences anyone may use to describe any number of check-in applications: It’s a way to share your actual location with others online; it also allows you to observe where others have checked in. Where many other applications seek to go from that starter definition, be it MyTown with games, Foursquare with tips, Gowalla with stickers, or ShopKick with deals, Facebook has simply stopped limply (but maybe effectively) at the first point of entry.

There’s a few other tricks to Facebook Places, and the following video, dripping with a sincerity that suggests they have suddenly figured out something others haven’t, demonstrates them:

Also inevitable is that Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal will be given a test run before most other humans. Unlike his usually predictably estatic review of Apple products (generally done in time for Steve Jobs to use an actual Mossberg quote as a part of his Keynote presentations), Walt was actually a bit matter-of-fact about Facebook Places. Not cold or harsh, just… well, “Meh” would probably be the most effusive meta-adjective I’d use.

This is because what may become the most short-term-advantageous thing about Places is what it does for others, including those other check-in services. The APIs that could come streaming out could hook into and help fuel the growth of any number of companies Facebook as threatened or tried to buy recently, several of whom (Gowalla, Foursquare and Yelp) actually appeared in some form on stage with Facebook for Places’ debut. And yes, businesses can claim their “Place” via a Page as we and others mused months ago.

And what about long-term? Well you can better believe Facebook didn’t debut this to merely dip a toe in. Cross-platform geo-location ads, sacks of data on visitations and total domination of the “place” space is clearly a mid-term goal. Actual quote from Zuckerberg: “…certainly you can imagine these things in the future.”

We have been recently musing on the concept of “place” (including, “How Location Could Change The Future of Pages” last March) insofar as the web toys with tying itself to real-world geographies and the inherent opportunity and fear laden in those watching this wrestling match happen. But one thing we’ve always said about Facebook — their nearest, truest competitor in a spiritual sense was never MySpace, but Windows. They want to be the start, constant and end of the web for many people — the entry point in. And for many, they are. So now marry location ontop of that and you can begin to see how powerful they could become for the general public. For and to the general public, I should say. Being in Facebook, as a valid location that people actually visit in real life as well as “Like” could become the equivalent of having your name and address in the phone book in the 80′s and being a store that’s in the Mall. You want to be “seen” there- and now you can, by friends who aren’t even nearby to see you.

This, of course, begs the privacy question. But if we rest for a moment and assume that this is about who you allow to see your location, we can hopefully still talk about “place” and Facebook’s role in it in a rational fashion. I could choose to not tell a single friend where I was on Facebook and still find it incredibly valuable to know that a restaurant I hear about in Richmond, VA called “Strange Matter” has been visited by several of my friends, I could reference it in a Status Update and get real recommendations of what to eat there and tips such as bringing your own quarters for the vintage arcade games. 3/4 of that scenario already happened pre-Places, but now I could potentially verify that it’s a cool place that several of my less chatty friends have also patronized recently. It becomes an early indicator for me in a single search, allowing me then to pursue more info through other means (Yelp reviews, call-outs for other recommendations on Twitter, etc.).

Facebook Places doesn’t change the game as much as it does solidify it, make it whole and, likely, make it ubiquitous. What it does more than really innovate is fire a cannon in a battle previously fought by slingshots as it brings its half-a-billion active audience into the check-in game. But don’t be distracted by the battle to see whose or what type of check-in system wins. Instead, start to look ahead, with us, at what this will mean for the intersection of real and web location in the years ahead.

-Dean (@dbrowell)

UPDATED August 19, 2010: Not that Facebook Places is available in #RVA just yet. #Fail #FacebookPlaces, #Fail.

One last note: Notice that Places logo? As TechCrunch points out: “It’s a 4. In a Square. Yeah.

Aug
13

Anna’s Social Media Picks of the Week (08/13/10)

by Feedback

Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way. Here are my picks of the week:

The Official Tweet Button:

Third-party Twitter-sharing tools now have their own official competition. This week, Twitter launched an official tweet button, which lets you easily share links from the website you’re on directly with Twitter. Just as we’ve grown to expect with other tweet sharing services – when you click the tweet button, a pre-populated box including brief text and a shortened link, will appear. Something different: Once posted, Twitter may recommend accounts for you to follow based on the news story you shared (such as the site account and reporter of the article you shared.)

MySpace’s Makeover:

MySpace has completely redesigned their homepage – & surprise! It looks similar to Facebook. A sneak peak was given to some users this week, and will be available to all MySpace users on August 16th. Changes include a stream (aka newsfeed), friend recommendations, birthday reminders, & “My stuff” (events, photos, videos, etc.). Too little too late?

Minor Changes To FourSquare:

Small changes to Foursquare this week include:

  • Superusers, mayors and venue owners can now see the location of recent checkins and enter an exact latitude and longitude to move a pin to it’s exact location.
  • Tips now include an option to add a link directly from the venue page.
  • Privacy wise, if you aren’t sharing your location, you can have the added comfort of making sure – the “Current Location” link now has a bar explaining that your location is not being shared.

Bye Bye Facebook Page Sidebars:

Changes are coming to Facebook Pages. If you are an admin of a Page, you may have even been prompted to review your Facebook Pages to make any edits before the new layout arrives. This new layout will not include sidebar boxes, and will have narrower tabs. The change is set to occur on August 23, 2010, with the goal of having cleaner, easier to navigate pages.

Bonus Reading: Can Google Get Social Networking Right?

My final pick is about an article I read this week called Can Google Get Social Networking Right? It is about Google’s innate want to create a social network and compete with the likes of Facebook. They want this in part because they want to remain the authority on online search, and social networks are collecting commercially valuable data that Google cannot access. But this article delves into the ‘can they do it’? They have successful social tools such as YouTube. They’ve had unsuccessful attempts such as Wave and Buzz. But, with the recent purchase of Slide, and their investment in Zynga, one can only wonder if they are attempting, and if they will succeed at creating a social network. Just something to think about.

-Anna (@alucas9)

Jul
09

Intern’s Social Media Picks of the Week (07/09/10)

by Feedback

Anna is out of the office traveling for client meetings in Madison, WI with Jeff and Dean, so this week’s picks are brought to you by intern Brad!

Experts Agree: Gen Y Will Not Grow Out of Social Networking
http://bit.ly/buPBCO

The Pew Internet and American Life Project have brought to light the consensus that the digital generation will still be consuming and participating in social media by 2020. A poll found that 67% of 371 experts agreed that Generation Y is likely to stay active in the social networking scene for quite some time.

Gowalla: We’re still in the location race
http://bit.ly/aYXQzR

Even as FourSquare is outgrowing Gowalla by a huge factor, Gowalla insists that it still has something to contribute in the geo-location race. This week, it announced promotions with the Livestrong foundation (in association with Nike stores) and Threadless to offer its users free prizes for following both organizations on the service.

Prince: “The Internet Is Over”
http://bit.ly/bKeI5e

Music icon Prince has again exercised his ability to speak his mind suggesting quite directly that the Internet is dying. His refusal to work with music distribution channels such as iTunes and Amazon, based on the lack of an advance for his work, harkens back to his intention to file lawsuits with sites like YouTube, eBay and the Pirate Bay.

Digg v4 hands on: A better Digg, but is it enough?
http://bit.ly/cWtPgi

Details of Digg’s newest version have been leaking out and the general reception seems to be that it’s a step in the right direction. Over 20,000 users were invited to join the closed beta test this week to try out the new Digg that changes its focus from the community as a whole to a circle of friends as a news sharing group.

— Brad (@bcarr)

Jul
07

Layers of Place

by Feedback

Yes, it’s that important… run, do not walk to read this article over at ReadWriteWeb:

Foursquare Launches Location Layers

Some of you may remember me crowing over augmented reality in the last year, and certainly everyone has heard my emphasis on the concept of place and location… as predicted, these are all converging and in some really remarkable (read: cool) ways.  Take a look.

-Dean (@dbrowell)

Jun
18

Anna’s Social Media Picks of the Week (06/18/10)

by Feedback

Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way. Here are my picks of the week:

YouTube Video Editor:

You can now do quick editing to a video on YouTube. This week, YouTube announced a cloud based video editor that allows you to trim a video and replace background noise with music. To learn more about this feature, go here: http://bit.ly/dzsyZG

Like Even More on Facebook:

Ever like a comment someone posted on Facebook? As of this week, now you can now show it. Facebook is now allowing users to like comments on posts.  See an example below:

Twitter Places:

On Monday, Twitter launched a new feature called Twitter Places. Users can now tag tweets with existing Twitter Places, as well as add new Twitter Places on Twitter.com and Twitter mobile. Twitter places is also being integrated with Foursquare and Gowalla.

Record Breaking iPhone Pre-orders:

Apple took over 600,000 pre-orders for the new iPhones on the first day the gadget became available. This was a record number for Apple, 10 times higher than pre-orders for the iPhone 3GS last year.  The high demand for the new iPhone did cause some difficulties when it came to processing orders through U.S. carrier AT&T Inc.

FIFA Fever:

Have the FIFA Fever? If so, there are plenty of World Cup apps to ensure you keep up with the games wherever you are. Free blackberry apps include AP 2010 World Cup Coverage and Goal Mobile. Free iPhone apps include ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup & Vuvuzela 2010. Android apps include World Droid Cup & World Cup 2010. There are also paid subscriptions such as Mobitv where you can watch games live. Twitter is also getting in on the action, with special hashtags, icons, & live Tweets for the World Cup. Go to twitter.com/worldcup for more details.

-Anna (@alucas9)

Jun
15

Fear & Social Media: The Problem With Place

by Feedback

First off: No unicorns.

The analogy of a unicorn is one I’ve been using for awhile. Even though my company specializes in social media, one of the very first things we try to impress on anyone we work with is to stop treating it like it’s so special. So unique. So weirdly fantastic. Because the more we romanticize it, the more unattainable and unusual it feels. The more we trick ourselves into essentially not understanding it. It becomes this amazing unicorn, and while we stare at it up on the hill, we barely notice all of the unicorns standing at the bottom of the hill around us.

So many professionals have spent so much time fearing or idolizing social media that they’ve failed to notice how ubiquitous and “baked in” it has become. With all of the navel-gazing, they failed to realize that everyone else had incorporated social media into their daily lives, into every interaction. Perhaps it was never that separate for the average consumer to begin with. Suddenly surveys are splitting hairs about whether people “use” social media to make X or Y decisions without noticing that everyone’s using a form of social media for every decision—they just aren’t bothering to CALL it “social media.” Anymore than I say, “I am about to write my friend an electronic mail which I will thrust through the internets in order to communicate thoughts from afar!” The idea of social media is NOT new. Anymore than AOL messageboards or phone party lines are new.

Which brings us to place.

Currently there’s quite a lot of buzz over “check-in” applications such as Foursquare, PlacePop, SCVNGR, Gowalla and Hot Potato. People stumble a bit in sometimes claiming that this wave of geolocation is somehow the start of the trend, but it’s myopic to claim geolocation is in its infancy. It’s certainly not when you consider how long Google Maps, Google Reviews, Brightkite and Mapquest has been around. We have to be careful to not ignore the emphasis that GPS and place has had on search in the last ten years and only focus on the Foursquare vs Gowalla.

By treating geolocation as so special we bundle its effects into something to lift up or be scared of. We watch as institutions wonder aloud whether they should partake in it… as though the only way to partake was to dive completely in. I think there’s some low-hanging fruit that worth pointing out to both the managers struggling with what Foursquare is and the C-suite who may be unusually enamored or scared of it. It’s simply worth just taking the time to ensure that your college buildings, hospital, wellness centers, retail locations, etc. are just listed in these apps. With Foursquare in particular, someone has to add a location- they aren’t automatically there like in SCVNGR (which is pre-populated with Google Places data) or MyTown (which uses CityPages). Nevermind if you have the money or inclination to engage, do sponsored badges, etc. – but are you even listed so that someone could check in? Or perhaps listed incorrectly? Are you there and people are already talking about you? A good analogy is really the old use of the phone book. There’s buying into a Yellow Pages ad program, but there’s also just making sure you appear in it and appear correctly.

But if we treat geolocation as a unicorn, we miss the opportunity to simply be found. And when did we treat our address as so special?

The apps themselves are often more in tune with the shortcomings of locations than the locations themselves are. In our recent research on event tourism with the a music festival we found some interesting benefits and problems with Bonnaroo’s official use of Foursquare (we’ll be elaborating a bit on the blog and  in a full-throated report soon, free to our clients) while other check-in apps didn’t even have a single central location to check-in at.

PlacePop worked diligently to try and add one when we spoke to them, and kudos for them for taking the effort and responding to Feedback’s open worry, but what would have simply helped was for the institution of a massive music festival that becomes Tennessee’s fourth-largest city in a weekend to have taken the initiative to simply have their address in the phone-book that is the top 5-10 apps.

There’s much more, from ensuring our photos and videos are properly associated with place and more… The concept of place is so much bigger than just check-ins. It’s someone needing something and asking a search engine of any sort, be it the augmented reality view of a camera phone held aloft to simply a Google Maps search from an iPhone. We’ve recently seen maternity wards being reviewed on apps like Yelp, traditionally the app of restaurants, for goodness sakes! How long before we realize the consumer isn’t waiting for the institution to get on board or not?

The overall issue of place is as old as the phone book. It’s as old as maps. It’s as old as grave markers of any sort. The check-in-app of old was simply the letter sent back home to tell family that we made it to the new land. Now I let select friends know I’ve landed with a click, or I can flip through the virtual catalog of places, opinions, ideas and opportunities, without having to write or interact myself, just to find a great place to eat, or raise a family, or hear some music.

So. Beware of unicorns.  :)

-Dean (@dbrowell)

Jun
11

Anna’s Social Media Picks of the Week (06/11/10)

by Feedback

It’s Anna from Bonnaroo 2010! Want to extend your Bonnaroo experience? Perhaps you’re not going to make it but still want to catch its acts live? Anna’s got three great picks for you this week.

Watch Bonnaroo Live on YouTube
Catch plenty of the acts you would be missing in all of their HD glory over at Bonnaroo’s YouTube channel! The channel also has a schedule of bands they will be broadcasting.

Listen to Bonnaroo Live on NPR
NPR will be carrying Bonnaroo live all weekend on their website and will be archiving the broadcasts for on-demand listening even after the weekend festival ends.

FourSquare and Bonnaroo Partner Up for a Rock Star Badge
If you’re at the event and an avid FourSquare user, you’ve probably been dreaming about getting a Bonnaroo-specific badge. Your dreams have come true!
Check in to the Bonnaroo’s subvenues throughout the event for your Bonnaroo Rock Star badge!

Jun
08

Feedback’s Off To Bonnaroo 2010

by Feedback

The Feedback Mobile Lab rolls out for the Bonnaroo Music and Art Festival tomorrow! While the Mobile Lab may seem like any other RV, it will be transporting Feedback’s eyes and ears to the festival. This excursion mixes both business and pleasure, as @dbrowell, @ideaman and @alucas9 observe social media activity among Bonnaroo artists and attendees while taking in the sights and sounds of the festival.

While Feedback Roo-goers are out enjoying Bonnaroo, those remaining at HQ will be tracking social media trends both at Bonnaroo and the series of tubes at large.

On-site, we will be testing geo-location services to see which most efficiently handles a gathering the size and scope of Bonnaroo. Our field team will be using FourSquare for the iPhones as well as at least one of the many competing social gaming/geo-location apps including Gowalla, PlacePop, and SCVNGR. Weather services will also be put to the test, with comparisons being made among applications from The Weather Channel, WeatherBug, and Weather Underground. In addition to regular Twitter updates, we’ll also be sharing parts of the Bonnaroo experience live via Ustream, the popular video streaming platform.

DryDay.com's Rain Forecast

But don’t think we’re waiting until Bonnaroo starts to track the related buzz on social media!  We’ve already started collecting data, revealing a few surprising trends, including widespread use of @Bonnaroo in place of the #bonnaroo tag on Twitter.

Collection and observation of such trends will continue as the event unfolds, so check back here daily for updates covering any major phenomena in the world of social media. We’ll also be maintaining a YouTube channel with live clips taken by the Mobile Lab team at Bonnaroo!

Let’s hope that the weather stays dry for Bonnaroo, though! According to DryDay.com, a favorite of Dean’s, it’s definitely favored to rain on a couple of days during the festival.

Hoping it won’t rain on the Mobile Lab,

— Feedback Interns: Brad Carr (@bcarr) and Brittney Trimmer (@bntrim)