by Dwayne Kilbourne on July 29, 2010
I have to admit that I really enjoy using the industry-leading geolocation social service, Foursquare. It gives me a lot of options that I really think adds value to the user experience. Furthermore, it provides opportunities to businesses to better engage their customer base and potentially reach new customers along the way. While all this is great, I must say that I feel that the experience is lacking a little bit. Sure, Foursquare is still a relatively new startup tech company and will surely add new features as it builds and grows, but I am hoping that it soon adds the following three features:
Improved Notification
I really like knowing that my friends have arrived or are nearby, and it appears that this feature is not really available at the present time. Since smartphones are able to check email, a simple email notification would suffice. I am just surprised that the only notification that I tend to get is the one that informs me of a new friend request, a new friend accepting my request, or that someone has unfortunately ousted me from a specific venue. I feel that Foursquare needs to give the user more options!
Who’s in Second Place?
It would be nice to know if you are, say, in second place or if someone is rapidly gaining on you. Now, I know this might not be a required feature, and many users might find it to be overkill, but it would come in handy for me and many of the loyal Foursquare users that I know. Maybe, we should give them a title as well – surely, there is a position that would fit the mayoral theme. If the company wants to push the game aspect of everything more, it can send a notification to the mayor that someone is closing in on ousting him or her or send a notification to the second place person to let them know that they are closing in on the takeover. Competition, friendly or not, could certainly drive more visits to the various popular venues and take Foursquare participation to a new level. The possibilities are certainly there!
Direct Shouts
Sometimes, I don’t want to shout too loudly that the entire world can hear me, so can we find a way to simply whisper to one or two people? Maybe, it would be great to be able to somehow make lists similar to Twitter yet have the option to message or update people via shouts to a specific group of people or those on a specific friend list like you can on Facebook! Look, I just like to stay organized. With the list functionality, I could be more organized. In the future, you could even decide to take listing and organizing to the next step by limiting which friends are seeing a specific checkin.
In short, Geolocation technology is changing how we live and interact with each other using technology, and the future looks bright! As with every newer technology, there will always be glitches and challenges, especially at the beginning of the process. Also, there will be great new opportunities to improve those technology services as time progresses, and now is that time! I am anxious for these three missing features; what geolocation features are you looking forward to?
by Dwayne Kilbourne on June 25, 2010
All of us have decisions that we make on a minute-by-minute basis. Some of these decisions are much larger in scope and influence than others. Some affect just you, your family, or your company while other decisions reach a much broader level of influence, affecting many more lives. With every decision comes a reaction – the basic cause-and-effect scenario that we all learned about early on in our lives. Sometimes, we make great decisions, and yet there are other times wherein, in hindsight, our decisions were blurred and found to be incorrect. Either way, if we are to be a true leader, we must hold ourselves accountable for the decisions that we make. We cannot scapegoat others when our feet are rightfully placed to the fire.
A true leader accepts the responsibility for his or her individual actions and decisions, no matter if those actions and decisions were good or bad. If the decisions were great, it is okay to accept a quick pat on the back. If the decisions were terrible, it is time to accept the responsibility for those decisions and quickly find a way to work to resolve the situation as best as possible. And then, a great leader will take heed of this experience and learn from the mistaken decision in an effort to ensure that it never happens again.
We all can easily turn on the television and watch the news or simply find breaking news articles and blogs online that all point to a debatable circumstance that is currently happening wherein the people or companies are not being accountable for their own actions. Examples are plentiful, including a few of my current favorites. Many people were angry at Tiger Woods and his lack of initial accountability when dealing with his numerous cases of infidelity. More recently, there is ever-growing outrage over the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Of course, political candidates and officials tend to find scapegoats along the way too.
Personally, I cannot see any way around holding yourself accountable for your own actions if you want to be the best leader possible. If you do not hold yourself responsible and accountable for what you do or decide, how can you then hold others accountable for what they do or say?
by Dwayne Kilbourne on June 22, 2010
As you may have noticed, my blogging has been absent over the course of the past month or so. After enduring a move, a quick vacation, and a few additional client projects, I am glad to say that I am now back to writing to my audience and sharing my perspective on a variety of topics within business, technology, and much more. Check back soon and see some of the pieces that I am currently working on. I appreciate the time that you take to read my thoughts and perspectives; I look forward to sharing many new great ideas in the near future!
by Dwayne Kilbourne on April 26, 2010
Successful, two-way communication is truly a key to anyone’s success. When it comes to leading, possibly no other trait is as powerful as listening. Scratch that – listening is really not enough. Instead, leaders need to be active participants in the listening process. As the former leader of Chrysler, Lee Iacocca, notes in his autobiography that “too many people fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions.” So many people want to tell others what to do without getting any feedback. I am sure there are times and places for such direct orders (i.e. on the battlefield while in the middle of combat), but, when the opportunity arises, a leader takes a few extra moments to listen and absorb what others feel and think. The leader tends not to rush to judgment; instead, he or she gives those under his direction a chance to speak and share their ideas and perspectives. Experts like Warren Bennis even acknowledge the great importance of active listening and openness to becoming be great leader!
Here are five other articles that I would recommend for your reading and leadership learning pleasure:
- The six skills for successful active listening by George Ambley
- Ways good leaders listen to others by J.B. Blend
- How good leaders listen by Todd Pheifer
- Leaders Must Listen With Their Eyes and With Purpose by Leanne Hoagland-Smith
- Irony of opposition leaders by Scott DeRue
