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Posts Tagged: Gowalla

Social Sharing: Important Trend or Evil Plan to Take My Crown?

“I’m watching Biggest Loser. I joined a local kickboxing class this week and will try to lose weight with these contestants!”

“Eating at my favorite deli for lunch- the best egg salad sandwiches in the world!”

“Anything by SEAL is a favorite song”

People want to share their life experiences with other people. Whether they know each other or not, they feel someone else out there wants to know this information.

We want to connect with others and new technology tools are allowing us to do that. We can find people who like the same music we like, who go to the same places we go and even those who are reading the same books we are reading or television shows we are watching.

Initially you may not see the purpose in all this social sharing, but it is a trend that continues to grow. A trend we cannot ignore. Sites like GetGlue are allowing people to rate movies, books, artists, TV shows and more. Fans comment and you earn stickers for “checking in” and can be elevated to GURU status if you can answer questions on the particular show or topic. The game-like concept fires up my competitive juices. Who doesn’t want to be THE OFFICE guru?

If you are familiar with Pandora Radio, you may have noticed that while one of your favorite songs is playing, you will occasionally see the face of one of your Facebook friends who shared that this is also one of their favorites. We have the ability to search for and connect with others who like the same music we do.

We can even share how our weight loss plan is going with the Tweeting Scale. When you step onto this smart scale (or idiotic-blabber-mouth scale) it will upload the data to your computer or mobile device, and if you’d like, it will send a tweet telling the world how much you have gained or lost. WHY? WHY would someone want to share this kind of information? Because we are social! Because more and more, people are looking for ways to find and connect with their tribes, their posse, their peeps! Before you shake your head and shrug off this strange behavior, let me ask you to consider this “case-study.”

On Foursquare, one of the geo-location sites I wrote about last week, I began checking in here and there just to learn more about it, but really didn’t see why people were going through the trouble… until I became the “Mayor” of my daughter’s high school. The surge of power became more than I should have been allowed to handle.

I was then checking in everywhere trying to see where else I could dominate. Two days after my first Mayoral appointment, I got wind of a dad who dethrowned me. Who was this man who ripped my crown from my head? How did I let this happen? I went to work. I checked in every time I dropped the Schrecklet off for summer sports conditioning and within a week I was Mayor Schreck once again.

This GAME engaged me. It caused me to take action. It caused me to go a little crazy, but I have hopes that my title will somehow help the Schrecklet during her freshman year! When the surges of testosterone subsided, creativity started to flow. I started to explore other ways we can use these game-like tools to engage our community, our audiences, or our customers. How can I get my customers to GO MAD trying to learn new bits of information as they earn points or stickers? How can you get your customers to fight over who gets to be KING or QUEEN of your business, if only for the day? Can you invite your community to share knowledge with one another?

Instead of shying away from these sites, log on and start playing. How will these new tools and trends shape your business? How can you tap the power they have to engage and turn customers into RAGING FANS (Ah Perhaps this is an idea for a follow up book to Ken Blanchard’s RAVING FANS. ) If we study the trend in Social Sharing, we will discover ways to tap this wave and get on board!

Happy Sharing~

@GinaSchreck
Check out more tech tips on our Facebook page and let us know how we can help you and your organization start using today’s tech tools to connect and engage! Gina@Synapse3Di.com

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

August 26, 2010 | Filed Under Geolocation, Mobile Technology, Social Media, Technology | 1 Comment

Oh! The Places You’ll Go…with Four Square, Gowalla & More You Know

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

Your mobile in hand.
You’ll check in here and there.
Your friends NEED TO KNOW
Through Gowalla and Foursquare.

You earn badges and stickers that don’t mean a thing
Become Mayor of Whoville or maybe the King!

Ok, so I updated and tweaked Dr. Seuss just a bit, but I’m sure Dr. Seuss would have been the Mayor of Whoville and that cafe that serves Green Eggs and Ham! He was all about FUN and GAMES!

So what is all the buzz about “Geo-tagging” “Location-based apps” and “Check-Ins?” Is it just another Farmville-like game to waste the time of so-called adults? Perhaps, but if we take the time to EXPLORE and use our IMAGINATION a bit, we just might see a use… we just might see a fit! (OKAY, so it’s contagious!)

August 12, 2010 | Filed Under Geolocation, Mobile Technology, Social Learning, Social Media, Technology, Twitter | 5 Comments

Can Geolocation Tools Work for a Service Business?

Geolocation is HOT! FourSquare and Gowalla have us checking-in, earning badges, and ousting our friends for Mayorship at our local stops. These new tech games allow people to open the program and using GPS built into their phones they will see local businesses that are near by. If you are downtown Denver, for example, you might open up Gowalla or Foursquare and see that Wynkoop Brewery is 20 meters from where you are standing. When you get there you can “check in” and get points. After so many points at this location, you are crowned the Mayor of Wynkoop Brewery (probably not real great for your professional image, but…).

If you have a brick and mortar business you can immediately see how these so-called games can be of use. You allow people to find your location, encourage them to come back often and you collect some data to see habits of those who are checking in. Small businesses can create their own card-less loyalty programs by offering discounts to those that check in often, and “valuable prizes” going to the Mayors,” but what about those of us who have a service to sell. Are geolocation tools for those of us who have chosen to forego the brick and mortar model?

Here are some of my ideas: Let’s assume that, hypothetically, I am a technology enthusiast, I could check into the Apple store and give 2 tips for using the new iPad, or check in at Staples as I share a tip on buying a great USB headset for conducting Skype calls. If I am a professional organizer I could give tips on shredding documents as I check in at Office Max, or as I check in at The Container Store, I add a tip on organizing your office.

Maybe you are a freelance writer and you are providing tips for better copyrighting. Check in at your library, bookstores, or your favorite stationary store as you venture around town giving those tips for another dimension.

These tools can allow your community to tag along with you. To see all the places you go…well you may want to keep that Mayoral status down at the Pub to yourself.

@GinaSchreck

How else do you see Geolocation tools playing a role in your business as we serve a growing mobile nation? I would love to hear your thoughts.

April 24, 2010 | Filed Under Geolocation, Social Media, Technology | 3 Comments