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 »

M&M is organizing a social media game in Canada. By using Google maps, Facebook, Twitter & Foursquare consumers need to trace ‘Red’.

The intro video is pretty cool and activates consumers to start their M&M hunt in the city of Toronto. Tips are posted on Facebook and Twitter to guide the gamers through the streets. Each day (until 4/12) there are three chances to find ‘Red’. Read More »

After the creation of Please Rob Me, a service allowing you to see who may not be at home at a particular time, there has been more bad press today for location based social tools.  The US military are now advising their officers, quite sensibly, to be careful how they use social networks as they could be used by the enemy forces to locate troops. (according to the BBC) Read More »

Niel Armstrong – the moon, Edmond Hillary – Everest, Amelia Earhart – The Atlantic, Vincent Haywood and 249 others – UK’s first SuperSwarm Badge on Foursquare.

Maybe not up there with those names, yet at 19:03 October 7th, the UK foursquare community unlocked the UK’s first Super Swarm Badge and damn we were proud. Read More »

I really quite enjoy using Foursquare. It’s still a pleasant little social networking site (at least in the UK), where the LOLers and bad spellers are yet to show up and I’m mostly friends with people that I’m, well, actually friends with.

So I’m looking forward to these new features that Foursquare is rolling out, as soon as I’ve updated the app on my iPhone (Android and Blackberry sers will have to wait a tiny bit longer). Read More »

As Facebook Places is rolled out across the UK today we can expect to see a big leap forward in people sharing information on their whereabouts.

Unlike dedicated location-based services Gowalla and Foursquare, which you have to make a conscious decision to sign up to, you’re probably already on Facebook. And this new feature is just ready and waiting to be used.

So if there’s going to be a big take-up among the UK’s 24 million Facebook users, who’s going to benefit most?

Read More »

Unless you live on another planet you should know that Facebook places is out . There have been many reviews and thoughts as to what the service can do and how its the Foursquare or Gowalla killer.

So where are we, no pun intended, how has the reaction been and what’s next?

At this point in the UK doesn’t have access,  but it is interesting to see the thoughts and opinions floating around from the loyalist Foursquarers to the facebook supporters. Read More »