Archive for the ‘GPS’ Category
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
For a while now, we at Windy City Strategies have been chiming in with our take on the pros and cons of the different GPS check-in services. Because when Facebook Places came out a few months ago, we worried if Foursquare or Gowalla were going to be able to compete with Facebook’s 500-million people pre-existing customers. But now, the question is, are GPS check-ins going to be around for much longer anyway? Pew Research recently reported that location-based services have actually declined in the last 6 months, from 5% of the online population in May to 4% last month.
Why? Because there haven’t been really good reasons to use them. I mean, there’s a certain fun factor in unlocking arbitrary badges in FourSquare. But the only real benefit is telling your friends where you are. And it’s not often enough where you want to brag where you are to the world.
Shopkick.com is the new player in the field, looking to bring an answer to this situation. You check in at a restaurant, and get 10% off your bill. You check in to your favorite electronics store and get a certain number of points. You get enough points, you get few products.
This is the solution. This is the incentive people need to check-in and offer the retailer free advertising by shouting their location to their friends. Shopkick.com has found it. Facebook Deals is following it. And I think there’s a reason. Because it’s the only future I can imagine for GPS check-in.
Tags: facebook-places, Foursquare, gowalla, gps-check-in, shopkick.com
Posted in facebook, GPS, mobile-marketing, Smartphones, Social Media | Comments Off
Monday, November 15th, 2010
Recently, a Nicaraguan military commander led his soldiers into Costa Rica and replaced their Costa Rican flag with a Nicaraguan flag.
An act of defiance? An act of war? No. A complete accident. Google Maps simply misled the commander as to the official boundaries between the nations. Because the boundaries are not in dispute. And it’s not as if Nicaragua is refusing to give up the territory. Once made aware of the mistake, the commander apologized. But, this could have had serious consequences. Fortunately, Costa Rica, who has asked the Organization of American States to weigh in on the issue, doesn’t have a standing army. But what if this happened to two other countries?
I guess the fact in this story I’m most surprised by is that international militaries are utilizing free Google GPS tools? It is worth noting that reportedly, Microsoft Bing’s map have this border near San Juan del Norte accurately mapped. Boy, Bing could turn this incident into a hysterical PR commercial if they wanted.
Tags: bing, costa-rica, google-maps, google-marketing, GPS, internet-marketing, nicaragua
Posted in bing, Google, GPS | Comments Off
Friday, November 12th, 2010
Should Foursquare be nervous? Well, Facebook Places hasn’t caught up to the GPS check-in service nearly as quickly as many thought. But Facebook may have just launched a new trump card in “Facebook Deals“.
Within Facebook Places, users will now be able to see any advertised deals offered by local businesses. These deals include: Individual Deals (offering discounts and rewards based on check-in), Friend Deals (discounts based on you and a friend checking in together), Loyalty Deals (based on consistent check-ins over time) and Charity Deals (which commoditize your check-ins for charity).
Now, is there a way to game the system? Well, because these things are GPS-based, you can usually “check-in” to a place simply by driving near it. So, could you get credit for check-ins without actually soliciting the business?
Well, perhaps there is a way to game the loyalty deals. But, you will have to show the cashier the deal you’ve earned on your phone to be able to cash it in. And expect local businesses to jump on this new train quickly.
Tags: facebook-deals, facebook-places, Foursquare, gps-check-in, local-business-advertising, social-media-marketing
Posted in facebook, GPS, Social Media | Comments Off
Monday, September 20th, 2010
A lot of businesses talk about utilizing FourSquare. Simply to be an innovation pioneer. Worried about staying ahead of the next big thing. But, the Washington Redskins are actually using FourSquare’s GPS check-in capabilities to enhance their customer experience.
The Redskins have recently launched a location-based campaign to try and encourage fans to check-in to FedEx Field, where the Redskins play, as well as several Redskins bars in the D.C. area. Successful check-ins are rewarded with an exclusive digital Washington Redskins badge as well as tips from the team. But, there is also a grand prize, which includes a tailgate party, loge tickets and pre-game field passes to a Redskins game.
We’ll keep you up-to-speed on the results of the campaign, as well as how other brands and businesses are using FourSquare and other GPS check-in services to enhance their customer experience.
Tags: FedEx-Field, Foursquare, gps-check-in, internet-marketing, mobile-marketing, Washington-Redskins
Posted in GPS, mobile-marketing, Smartphones | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Tiger Woods kept dozens of girls under wraps for years. But that’s nothing compared to the Internet under-cover feat that Facebook has just accomplished.
With Facebook Places, they kept this gigantic GPS check-in application almost completely off the radar. Which many companies are able to do. But not after letting so many employees know about it. Because it turns out that Facebook’s headquarters had more than 7,000 check-ins over the past 6 months. Suffice to say, a lot of their employees knew about it. And didn’t say a word.
Now, Facebook didn’t keep Facebook Places a complete secret. Industry insiders spotted some early code on the touch.facebook.com site months ago. And most people knew that something like this was coming from them. But, with a company the size of Facebook, it’s almost bizarre. 1,500 employees. No employee leaks about the app. No leaks about the page.
If when the “Google Me” social network comes out, it turns out that all of Google’s employees have been playing on it for months, that’s the only thing I can imagine topping this digital secrecy.
Tags: facebook-places, Google, google-me, gps-check-in, internet-marketing-company, social-media-marketing, tiger-woods
Posted in facebook, Google, GPS, Social Media | Comments Off
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
It’s official. Facebook has launched their very own GPS check-in service called Facebook Places. And they surprised us once again.
Here at Windy City Strategies, we had been predicting that this launch would kill current market leader FourSquare overnight. But, representatives from FourSquare were at the news release yesterday when Facebook announced their new “location-based service” product.
Currently only available for the iPhone, but soon to be available for other smartphone devices, you can simply log-in to your Facebook app and click the new “Check-In” button under “Places”. Then, using your phone’s GPS technology, Facebook will let you know what registered “places” are nearby for you to check in to.
Here’s where the FourSquare friendship kicks in. Facebook has merged their rewards system with FourSquare’s. So FourSquare people don’t have to start over. Those 117 check-ins at the 7-11? They’re still good. Phew. All those slurpees aren’t a waste.
Now, the question is, how long will these rivals be able to play nice with each other? And how fast can sheer integration with the biggest social media network the world has ever seen tip this relatively niche technology?
Tags: facebook-places, Foursquare, gps-check-in, iphone, mobile-marketing, social-media-marketing
Posted in facebook, GPS, mobile-marketing, Smartphones, Social Media | Comments Off
Friday, July 30th, 2010
We recently talked about how some version of Foursquare is going to be huge. And how whichever GPS check-in tool Facebook ends up getting behind is probably going to be the next big thing simply because of how quickly Facebook’s matchless crowd can push things mainstream.
Well, the next big thing might just be here. And it’s called Hot Potato. Just like other GPS check-in services, Hot Potato lets people announce their physical location to the world. But, Hot Potato does more than that. Users can announce anything, including what they’re listening to or what they’re reading.
Now if Facebook figures out how to bring competition to these other events, they might have a big winner on their hands. And if this Facebook buy-out of Hot Potato does go through, my money is on Hot Potato quickly overtaking current market leader, Foursquare.
Tags: Foursquare, gps-check-in, hot-potato, social-media-marketing
Posted in facebook, GPS | Comments Off
