The 70,000-strong army of volunteers who will be helping the London 2012 Olympic Games to run smoothly have been told that they mustn’t mention details of their location, their role or any backstage information about athletes, celebrities or “dignitaries” on social media.

Considering the nature of social media on sites like Twitter and Facebook is to share precisely that information the London Olympics organisers appear to be issuing rather optimistic social media guidelines for volunteers. Read More »

Hi everybody.

I’m Rich. I work at 10 Yetis PR Agency. (‘Hiiii Rich’, you say in a soothingly choral sort of way).

And I’m an addict. (You clap empathetically, looking at me with a knowing approval and compassionately tearful gleam in your eye).

It all started out as a pastime. A bit of fun to while away the time with friends. I don’t need to use it, I’d tell myself. I do it because I want to. I was in control. And then, over time, things changed. I started using it at all hours of the day. I’d wake up and use it. I’d use while at work. I’d do it instead of spending time with my family. I’d do it as my family continued to live their lives around me, disapproving of my developing dependence. Then, as I found out about more and more different types – as other addicts eulogised – I’d have to try them. I needed to.

My addiction developed. Read More »

Foursquare: more developments

Foursquare is the latest social network to look towards businesses to monetize its website, with a report in the New York Post saying it is planning to start charging registered merchants.

The newspaper interviewed Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai, who said: “[The check-in] comes back to me in forms of recommendations. It goes back to [users] in interesting ways.”

Read More »

Forecast: announce your plans for the day

We all know about social media, but how about socializing media? For example, a smartphone app that exists purely to help you see your friends?

Foursquare has launched one. It’s called Forecast, and it’s a very simple idea. You let Forecast know your likely movements later in the day and it lets your friends know. Then presumably, if they’re going to be around, at a loose end and wanting to catch up, they can get in touch.

Read More »

Foursquare: 500,000-plus businesses on board

As we know, geo-location social network Foursquare is operating in an increasingly tough market, with competition on two fronts: rival check-in sites like Facebook Places, and the increasingly popular coupon companies like Groupon.

Nonetheless, a fortnight after it revealed it had 10 million members, it has said that it has more than 500,000 merchants signed up – the companies that do special offers for people checking in or for people with ‘Mayor’ status (meaning they’ve checked in the most) and so on.

Read More »

Foursquare: deal with Amex

In spite of predictions that Facebook Places would kill off Foursquare, the geo-location social network is still going strong, revealing this week that it has 10 million members and a new partnership with American Express.

The deal works in the United States and will see American Express users required to sync their cards with a Foursquare account in order to get discounts at retailers and restaurants.

Read More »

Do your travel dreams involve a visit to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania? It’s probably not in your top-10 must-visit places, but nonetheless, there exists a Pennsylvania Tourism Office to try and tempt you. And they’ve done a deal with Foursquare to promote the town’s biggest attraction: the weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.

Punxsutawney Phil Badge: available for one day only

Read More »

After a year that saw some serious milestones tip in social media, such as Facebook reaching the 500 million member mark, you might be wondering what’s in store for 2011 trends in this lively medium.

Maz Nadjm

I met up with Maz Nadjm, Ogilvy Group UK’s now Head of Social Media, who formerly headed Sky’s online social media strategy,  to pick his brains about what he thinks is in store for the new year in social media. Read More »

2010 has seen a massive expansion in the use of social media by people and brands. There’s no denying that a lot of it is celebrity led – just look at @ladygaga with her 7.3 million  Twitter followers – but major brands have been pushing it forward too, creating platforms on Facebook alongside their official websites or running location-based campaigns through Foursquare and its competitors.

The increased use of smartphones and steady stream of new applications have enabled us to access our favourite platforms wherever we are, to the point that social media has become integrated with our daily lives in a way that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. Read More »

Foursquare seems in a bit of a bother. Just very recently a mobile network provider told me about some of the work they are doing with retailers here in the UK. If you enter a store and you are with said network, you will receive a special offer. They can triangulate the individual within a 5 meter radius and overlay age and gender. There’s no check-in needed and it’s based on simple trigger marketing principles, obviously ensuring different messages for different visits, and targeted not only on acquisition but also retention and loyalty. Now that is powerful stuff – very targeted, very relevant and very timely and completely independent from the need of being a mayor. Just imagine once they overlay this with social data. It’s going to be like mind reading. Read More »