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?

In an ever-growing world of technology, we find ourselves at new crossroads never seen before. In recent years, for example, we all have seen exponential growth in the popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn! As this popularity continued to rise, more and more people entered the world of social media, and, like in other cases, some people simply found themselves hooked. We only have some many minutes in a day, each minute is a commodity that we cannot get back once we use it up! Hence, there are great opportunity cost associated with each decision that we make.

Recently, I read a blog post by Alycia Birch that reminded us all about the debate about social media’s effects on students. As many experts are pointing out, more students are being consumed by social media networks like Facebook, and this is having a negative effect on their standardized test scores and other aspects of their academic pursuits. How will this affect today’s students as they move forward into the workplace? Are we losing more competitive edge to students abroad? This is merely one example of how social media is being frowned upon.

As for me, I find it critical that we all do our best to manage our time in more efficient ways. It might be best if we plan ahead and set aside time for our priorities first. When I was younger, my family told me that I needed to do my homework before I went out to play, and I feel that we need to instill more of this discipline in the younger generations of today and tomorrow. But, it does not stop there; this social media addiction concern is not just limited to students in middle school, high school, or even college, for it extends into the workplace. There are many worries that our workplace productivity is being harmed by this addiction. Hence, we all need to manage our time a little bit better, including me! We must find better ways to accomplish the priorities while still setting aside personal time to enjoy the various fruits of life, including technology! So, let’s all strive to find better balance in our lives!

There are skeptics out there who are not willing to take a risk and engage in the world of social media. Some are afraid of change while others simply do not feel that they know enough about it. Then, there are some that know that their competition hasn’t engaged the customers through social media means. All of these are given as reasons for staying away. EXCUSES! But, what these individuals, businesses, brands, and organizations fail to realize is that social media and related Web 2.0 and beyond technologies are great opportunities that can aid their efforts in many different ways. What works for one company, brand, or organization won’t necessarily work for the rest – it is not a universal solution, for, instead, social media and related technologies and marketing efforts should be shaped and tailored to fit the needs and goals of company, brand, or organization. There is no copy and paste; alternatively, proper planning and preparation are needed to reach optimal success. Those rules (the need for planning and preparation) haven’t changed, for only the environment and landscape have changed. Just like football evolved from predominantly a running game to that of a passing game, marketing has evolved from television and newspapers to online media marketing. However, as in the past, the need to preplan and coordinate is just as great if not more so now than ever in the history of marketing. With new options and opportunities comes some added complexity in the marketing mix. But, determination, persistence, and planning will go a long way.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Who are your customers?
2. Where do your customers frequent online? (Facebook? Twitter? Blogs?)
3. What do you want to communicate to your customers?
4. Are you willing to listen to your customers?

For decades, more and more people have surrounded televisions around the nation and even the world to watch the Super Bowl. In its 44th annual installment on Sunday, more and more companies are looking at ways to do one of two things. One: those shelling out nearly three million dollars per 30-second advertising spot are wanting to maximize their visibility as best as they can. A great example of this is GoDaddy.com and its extended commercials (and conclusions) that are online following the airing of the Super Bowl ad. Two: some large companies are simply forgoing the costly route of producing and broadcasting their advertising messages within the normal Super Bowl channels. An example of this is Pepsi and their sudden departure from Super Bowl commercial placement. After 23 straight Super Bowl appearances, they are throwing all of their Super Bowl marketing budget behind social media! They are wanting to make a bigger difference and appeal in the world, and social media is allowing them greater success through their new Refresh Project.

While we do not know which team on the field is going to walk off with the Lombardi Trophy, one thing is for sure – the real winner will be social media. This illustrates how marketing is going through a paradigm shift of sorts. Mass media channels are simply not the only way to go if you seek national or global brand recognition. We have a new set of tools at our disposal, and some are tinkering with these new tools. Of course, there are a few companies and executives out there that are oblivious to this change that is rapidly fermenting; it is time to jump aboard the Social Media train.

As a superuser on the newly-popular location-focused social media Foursquare, I am finding myself running into new questions of protocol. Here are three that I find myself struggling with the most thus far:

• What do you do when you go to several businesses located at the same address? I find myself curious how to check-in when I pump gas at a local Shell gas station and then pick up some food for the family at the McDonalds inside. To me, they are two different businesses; I mean – they both have unique phone numbers. As such, I should check-in to both individually, right? What about if you are walking inside the mall on a Sunday and go store to store?

• When should I check-in? For the purpose of mere convenience and professionalize, I tend to check-in from my vehicle upon arrival and before entering the location. So, there are times when I arrived at the business too early, thinking that they were opened (only to find out after checking in that the business doesn’t open for another hour or two). I know this might not seem like a big deal, but I certainly do not want others to view me as a Foursquare spammer of sorts, looking simply to increase my check-in count, etc.

• Twitter Profiles? Do they want them or not? Foursquare allows you to enter them on the regular website, but they do not allow you to add the venue’s Twitter account using the mobile site. Of course, most people just want to hurry and add the missing venue and get going on their journey, but why not offer it as an option like they do on the regular site?

So, I am confident that 2010 will big year for Foursquare! Hence, I am sure that these questions will probably answer themselves soon, but I am hoping to find resolution to these fun-spirited Foursquare cultural curiosities.

Many companies within the world of technology find difficulty remaining current and relevant as the natural industry changes take place. Within the Internet industry specifically, there has been a transformation from the beginning of the infant and simple World Wide Web (Web 1.0) to the mature Web 2.0 and beyond of today. Actually, we are beginning to push into what many consider the third phase of the web (Web 3.0).

As a result of the progress, more and more companies are joining the battle to gain market share and a competitive edge over other peers within the industry. Hence, some are left behind and are deemed unimportant and others completely forgotten. Some companies are in the right places at the right times, and others try to buy their way in. In what appears to be an act of desperation, it appears that AOL is attempting to purchase Mashable, a popular and leading technology blog site, an effort that some are viewing as a last ditch effort to remain in the conversation – to remain relevant in the ever-changing world of technology – and to sit at the table!

Like many things, however, money alone will not suffice. Instead, the culture within the organization needs to grow with the changes of the times and advancing technologies. I am concerned that the AOL deal, if the rumor is true, would cause a problem of great proportions. AOL and Time Warner just separated back into the companies similar to what that they were prior to their famed and unsuccessful merger, so who is to say that AOL is ready to start adding outfits this early in the game, even if it is a relatively small outfit (by their standards) like Mashable. To me, this shows their desperation more than ever.

I have heard (from a few places) conversations that people won’t even date someone who has an AOL email address, further illustrating AOL’s insignificance in today’s ever-evolving technology industry. AOL is not considered current or cool. Many might therefore conceive that AOL’s dull image will rub off on Mashable. Only time will be the true test! Since brand image is critical externally and corporate culture critical internally, I fear that such a deal would reduce readership and then minimize Mashable’s voice in the medium-to-long term. However, those at Mashable are sitting on a golden egg, and this might just be their only and best chance to hatch it before it spoils.

It is December 3, 2009, and I am checking to see if my blog claim on Technorati has been reviewed and approved. I go online and noticed that indeed it appears that the company is simply running a little behind. So, I patiently wait. I figured that it would take another day or two to get everything sorted out, but anything is possible. Days pass, so I seek out a little customer service. When clicking on their support page, it recommends that I go over to their GetSatisfaction.com Community Forum where a Technorati employee (TechnoEric) started the conversation thread entitled, “Blog claiming is taking FOREVER!”

My Technorati Blog Claim Review Status: 01/05/2010

Unfortunately, it appears that this case of blog claiming delay is much more – indeed a lack of recent engagement from Technorati. As of this original posting, there are 57 people participating and inquiring about this topic on GetSatisfaction.com Technorati forum and supposedly 2 employees (that appear currently inactive in this brewing conversation – a result of no feedback from these two for over 24 days and counting). Furthermore, others continue to endure the same problem. One example out of the many would be that of Mike Daicoff. He has been waiting since late November of 2009 to get the claim reviewed, a week or more before I put in my claim. He took action by venting through his blog, Standing Stones, just yesterday via a blog post entitled, “Technorati’s Invisible Claim Review!”

Mike starts by remarking:

“This is an open letter to the people at Technorati, the (once) popular blog search and ranking engine.  I invite any and all who read this post to feel free to leave a comment if your experience is anything like mine.  That is to say, absolutely horrible.”

Personally, I have sent out numerous tweets about this topic, most directly linking and mentioning @Technorati, but no feedback has been given. I have not received any acknowledgement from the industry leader in blog searching! Lastly, I started a new hashtag #claimreview to track this conversation even further. Most might not be as persistent as I am, but I just wanted to get answers. Is this going to take 3 more months or 3 more hours? If Technorati does not know these answers, they should still respond and build the communication channels. Essentially, this appears to be a failure to engage with the site users. What a mistake – what a shame!

As some of you may have noticed, I enjoy reading, especially the great business and technology books of yesterday and today. Consequently, I frequent Barnes & Noble (BN) and even Borders as much as my schedule permits. A while back, I was introduced to this great Godiva hot chocolate – did I mention that I love hot chocolate and simply do not drink coffee – that was offered at Barnes & Noble. Well, after getting hooked on this stuff, the company removed it from their café menu. As I moved down to Georgia, I began to inquire about the product more and more, and nobody at the local levels had first-hand knowledge about the back story regarding the removal of this delicious beverage, for they were left to acknowledge that it was gone and recommended that I purchase the Godiva cocoa powder to fulfill my cravings.

But, I am one of those loyal customers that still seeks alternative resolutions. I was wondering who was empowered to bring it back, either locally or, for that matter, nationally. The café mentioned that I should call the corporate numbers and inquire. I must admit that my first interaction with the customer service representatives over the phone were perplexing as they did not have the answers that I was looking for. The nice gentleman recommended that I speak with the local store, something that I already did. I even asked if there was a customer care representative that was on Twitter – maybe they could help. I recalled seeing BN Studio on Twitter, but I did not know if they were charged with resolving BN bookstore issues. Being the social media enthusiast that I am, I started to send public tweets to them, and soon on December 2, 2009) I received the breakthrough that I needed. They provided me with the corporate number. By contacting that number, I was transferred to the corporate café department managers. I enjoyed a great, transparent conversation with Dennis, one of BN’s great managers!

Once I got settled in and knew which part of Georgia I was moving to, I spoke both with the local bookstore café manager and, most importantly, back with the café representatives from the highest level. Yesterday, they told me that they were going to contact the district store manager and empower them to simply open up a canister of Godiva hot cocoa mix (the exact stuff that they used originally) and serve me the great beverage that I sought for months. Consequently, I had a chance to swing in to the same BN location this morning, and the request turned into reality – merely hours after talking to the right people! And it all began to come to fruition after a single tweet to a great company that was listening. Now, I might just have to renew my BN Membership card earlier than anticipated to enjoy more cocoa and greater savings – hence, a win-win for everyone involved!

So, I now have access to the great drink that I missed for more than six months, and I have social media and technology to thank. Without such, more calls, more patience, more luck, and more time would have been required. For all of those companies, large and small, that are out there pondering the power and risk of the social media arena, I recommend that you get involved in the conversation now – it is your choice whether you want to help a customer rediscover his or her lost chocolate today! By the way, if you have not tried the great Godiva hot chocolate, what are you waiting for?

I wander around on Twitter and find myself excited to see great linked content, especially in the marketing and social media arenas. However, sometimes there are errors of situations that could be improved. Sometimes, the original tweets can be almost as long as the 140 character limit allowed, so that means that you have little choice but to chop the tweet up in order to fit all of the important information in for my followers and for those who might search the related hashtags. In my case, I consider that RT Optimization, and I believe it to be good. I am not there to nitpick every aspect of the tweet, but I am normally adamant about relaying the great tweet and do not give up because of a small hurdle. I still give credit to the originator or previous Retweeter (depending upon the information that I have at my disposal), but my goal is to ensure that my followers receive a valuable tweet that is understandable and useful. As a perfectionist, I try to make sure that I consider the basics when I tweet, allowing for RT Optimization by those wanting to forward my message on to their followers, but I, like everyone else, is not perfect. So, I am game for anyone wanting to slightly alter the tweet if I did not follow the basics or simply ran out of room so long as the overall message doesn’t change.

What are the trends out there for fake Retweets? How many people are putting words (or tweets) in others’ mouths? Also, are these people being caught? Certainly, this is a topic for future consideration. In the meantime, what are your thoughts about the art of the Retweet? What rules do you follow?

Technology is changing more and more in this fast-paced business and consumer world. Businesses are scrambling to keep up with these changes. The traditional means of conducting business is no longer acceptable or viable. Take the communication channels of yesterday versus those of today.

Traditional: We do not send postal mail like we used to. As a result, while the United States Postal Service (USPS) gets more efficient and embraces technology to allow customers to send mail with ease, the cost of shipping each package has increased because the traffic and sheer volume of postal mail has decreased. In fact, to reduce the bottom line and operating expenses, the USPS has considered cutting their Saturday services.

New Age: Email still remains a valid means of communication, but this is even changing as social media is taking over. As Brandon Eley and Shayne Tilley point out in their book, Online Marketing Inside Out, that many of today’s youth don’t check their emails that often and instead rely on their favorite social media channels to act as their communication tools.

Change is ongoing and inevitable. As the great social media guru, Paul Gillin, reminds us in his enlightening book, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, to simply EMBRACE this CHANGE! By embracing the changes within business and marketing… and communication, we put ourselves into the conversation and into the game. If we do not, we will end up struggling to stay significant and lose any hopes of maintaining pace with the industry leaders. So, are you willing to embrace the changes today? Do you want to keep pace with the competition?