I always say the reason foursquare was able to beat out so many early competitors in the location-based space (Gowalla, Facebook Places, Whrrl, MyTown) is because it welcomed open source development on its platform. Foursquare’s API is its most valuable asset. And everything from the careful documentation to the hackathons foursquare has hosted screams “We want you to use our technology to make awesome apps!” In today’s development environment, APIs are sort of like the famous line from Field of Dreams: If you build it, they will build with it.

Right now, developers can’t wait to get theirs hands on the yet-to-be-released Pinterest API. Here are some app features I’d like to see developers build.

1. Scheduling

Pinterest creates amazing opportunities for brands to have fun with their customers, drive

traffic to their website and even gain insight into their customers’ wants and desires. But like most social networks, marketers can’t just “set up a Pinterest and let it do it’s thing.” The newsfeeds are based on recency, so Pinterest requires constant updates and maintenance.

Third-party apps like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and CoTweet have made social marketers’ lives much easier by providing the ability to schedule posts. Pinterest needs the same type of feature.

2. Selective Unfollowing

Every new social network struggles with the “my friends aren’t here” complaint. Pinterest addresses this challenge by having its users automatically follow all of the boards users’ Facebook friends create. That’s great when the Pinterest party is small. But as this network becomes more mainstream, users won’t need as much help finding a critical mass. The result of the auto-follow feature for me has been a newsfeed crowded with wedding dresses and interior design. I’ve spent a lot of time unfollowing those boards (not the users) to get the newsfeed I wanted. The automatic following is leading to manual unfollowing, and that’s a problem.

A third-party app could automate this. I would log in and indicated that I want to follow my Facebook friends on Pinterest, but I only want to follow their boards about comedy, infographics, photography, latte art, Star Wars, and dancing gorillas. An app could take that input and, based on the tags and descriptions of my friends’ boards and pins, ensure that my newsfeed only gave me content I wanted to see.

I want to follow my friend @MShahab, but some of her boards don't interest me.

3. Recommendation Engines

The search function on Pinterest is really weak. It appears to sort only by recency, not by popularity. That’s great if I’m looking for the latest pins, but not if I’m looking for great boards to follow. There are a lot of recommendation engines out there for other social networks; Pinterest needs one too.

4. Data Visualization

My favorite third-party app for Instagram is Statigr.am. It’s a site that visualizes your activity on Instagram in ways a basic visual feed style doesn’t. Statigr.am lets you see your most used filters, what days of the week you typically post, your biggest fans, most popular photos and more in an infographic-esque style.

I’d really like to see a Pinterest data visualization tool. It would be great for helping brands optimize their content on Pinterest, and it’s a lot of fun for consumers to look at too.

There’s some speculation about when Pinterest will release its API, but when it does, I expect there to be an onslaught of third-party apps taking Pinterest to the next level.

[Watch video of the panel here]

I got to speak on a few topics during the panel including the role of social media in a campaign and why SCVNGR isn’t the “next big thing.” But I noticed a few questions posted on Hill Holliday’s windows that did not get answered. Here’s the rest of what I would have said, but never got a chance to.

Augmented Reality

Right now, it’s too early to look at AR as a whole. Pieces of it are developing on their own. So if you want to know about where AR is going, study up on where location technology is going, where image recognition is going, and where hologram tehcnology like GE’s Ecomagination Smart Grid campaign is going. It is a combination of these things–location, image recognition, 3D objects–that will make up instantaneous, design-oriented access to information. That is what AR will be, but it hasn’t all come together quite yet.

This is sort of what I’m talking about (except it will be optimized not to be so overwhelming):

The Education System is Broken

One goal of #MASStalent is to help students understand what they can do before graduation in order to be ready for work in digital industries. My advice is this:

1. Recognize that your professors are ignorant of new technology. I am overgeneralizing, but not by much. In my time at BU, I might have had two professors who knew that they actually did not know everything.
2. Read Mashable and TechCrunch as much as you can. Test as much technology as you can. Learn as much as you can outside of class.
3. Shut up. Don’t point out to your PR professor that a blogger will think you’re nuts for trying to pitch them via snail mail. Just keep your head down and do it. You’re never going to convince them that the ways they have known and loved their professions are now irrelevant, so spend your time and energy worrying about more important things. It’s a sad reality, but it’s true.

The Hardest Part

One student asked what defines success for Gen-Y in digital industries. If you can convince people to say “yes” to new ideas about technology, you will be successful. That’s a lot harder than it sounds, and it’s something I struggle with daily. That goes for fellow employees, clients, customers, consumers, everyone. Humans are creatures of habit, and their initial instinct is to reject the unfamiliar. Get them to break that habit, and you will win.

Next Trend in Digital

I saw a post-it asking, “What’s the next trend in digital besides group buying and location?” Yes, I really do believe that group buying and location are the two most important trends right now. I also believe in the following equation:

Foursquare + Groupon = beautiful rainbows and baby bunnies

But since that isn’t the question, I’ll say that collaboration is the next next big trend. There are so many mobile applications and so many social networks that at some point we will need to see more collaboration. TriOut is a thought leader in this respect. It’s an iPhone app and web app that lets you check into multiple location-based services at the same time. It adds its own features as well, but the collaboration piece is key. More developers will be using more APIs than ever before as time goes on. Platforms will encourage third-party apps, knowing that they are crucial to success.

Our panel at #MASStalent

That’s it. I’m given away all of my knowledge. Stay tuned into the #MASStalent hashtag for future brain orgasms like Monday night’s.

Question 1: How can Foursquare drive foot traffic to travel destinations?

As I mentioned here, it’s obvious Foursquare is moving toward a Whrrl-like model with it’s new 2.0 upgrade, which places To-Do’s and Tips in a much more prominent role. This change is the first of a two-step process:

1. Foursquare will take a main-stream tactic by spoon-feeding its users. First, Foursquare is introducing the core users to the idea of tips.
2. Second, Foursquare will implement more updates that will personalize and categorize the Foursquare user experience. Right now, tips are a dead end. If you leave a tip at a location on Foursquare and someone else completes your tip, you get no notification when happens. Whrrl has completed this loop with its influence scores and societies, but hasn’t yet penetrated past the iPhone platform.

Question 2: If you could only take one location-based app with you on vacation (domestic), which one would it be?

Dan Parks raised an interesting point here. Once Foursquare starts mining the To-Do and Tips data, they will be able to show which Foursquare users are more influential in certain verticals. The sushi expert’s tips will be displayed more prominently on location pages for sushi places. Same for wine connoisseurs, mommy-bloggers, urban socialites and more.

Question 3: How can an online travel sites like Orbitz and Expedia integrate LBS? What about drive revenue?

Alicia Collins raises an interesting issue here. When the reality she’s talking about comes to fruition, we will have real-world affiliate marketing. Right now, affiliate marketers get paid by how many clicks they get on certain links, or how many Amazon purchases are tied to their designated link. In a short while, affiliate marketers will be paid based on how much real-world action they are driving.

Question 4: Mobile application EpicMix lets skiiers track physical activity on the mountain. What’s more beneficial: specialty apps like EpicMix or LBS like Foursquare?

I have long been preaching the fact that location elements will become common features across almost all media, especially mobile media. In a few years, we won’t think about what location-based app we’re using. When we’re drinking beer, we’ll check into Untappd (and Foursquare along with it). When we’re running, we’ll use RunKeeper. You get the idea. Every app we use will have a location tie-in.

Question 5: How can LBS help travel marketers and content providers deliver audio and video content?

[Disclosure: One of my freelance clients was curious about the topic and asked me to include it in the chat.]

Maurice Rahmey’s point at the end is a good one. There are content creation companies already involved in LBS, or looking to get involved in LBS, but have no way of delivering their content on the LBS platforms! That’ll come soon, I think. SCVNGR will be one of the first. Stickybits is already dabbling in video and audio.

Discussion about Facebook Places

As per usual, #LBSchat skewed off onto a side discussion about what the hell that Facebook Places thing is supposed to be.

Question 6: Gowalla is partnering with Four Seasons to offer $100 gift certificates for users who complete local treks. Success or failure?

Here we have two opposing sides to the issue, and yet, I agree with both.

Want to join in #LBSchat? Head over to Tweetchat.com and plug in the #LBSchat hashtag on Thursday nights at 9pm EST. See you there!

So far we’ve had Where and SCVNGR join the discussion, the TriOut team on board from day 1, and promotion from some really interesting Foursquare resources such as 4squarebadges.com, aboutfoursquare.com, @FoursquareHelp. Yesterday I spoke with Whrrl creator Pelago’s VP of Product/Marketing John Kim at length about the product’s roadmap and strategy after he noticed how much we were tweeting about Whrrl on #LBSchat!

This chat is quickly becoming a kind of focus group for the location industry. If you’re reading this and taking part in the chat, thank you! If you want to get involved, we chat on Twitter on Thursday nights at 9pm EST with the hashtag #LBSchat. Check out last night’s transcript.

Cudos to the TriOut team for joining in. Having a platform perspective on these issues really enhanced the discussion. See the whole #LBSchat transcript here. If you’re interested in more location chatter, check out @waynesutton’s #GEOchat Tuesdays at 2pm EST.

Next Thursday at 9pm EST, we’re talking about gaming elements in location on #LBSchat. Don’t miss out!

The idea is not anything new.

Remember the viral video sensation of 2007? Two kids made a YouTube video of a glitch in an EA Sports Tiger Woods Pro Golf video game.

EA responded with a YouTube video that ran on television as an ad with a claim that there was no glitch; that Tiger Woods was actually was good enough to walk on water. The video received almost five times as many views as the user-generated parody:

Wheat Thins will hunt you down

Last month, Wheat Thins started hunting down Twitter users who comment about the the popular crunchy product. The Wheat Thins squad physically tracks down the people in their homes or when they’re out at a restaurant leaving one victim bewildered, glancing nervously at the cameras and wondering aloud, “Don’t I have to sign something?”

The Old Spice campaign is no doubt miles ahead of other viral marketing attempts. Take a look at Visible Measures’ statistics from the video series’ first few days:

To me, this campaign was really eye-opening. It signifies two major trends happening in the new media world right now:

1) A business-driven convergence of popular social media platforms.

Think back to 2009. Which two emerging trends went crazy that year? Twitter usage was the biggest upward trend. The other was online video, which, with the help of Hulu, took huge strides.

2) Advertising taking some control over social media

The Old Spice campaign was organized by Weiden + Kennedy, and it was an aggressive move from the advertising firm. Having graduated from Boston University with a PR degree, I’ve been told PR departments should control social media. Now, I’m being exposed to some different points of view. While I still think PR skills (notice I didn’t say “firms”) are best to handle day-to-day “conversation management,” I’m seeing advertising disciplines (again) taking the lead in creating social media campaigns.

If you want to read more about the Old Spice campaign, see the following articles:

http://mashable.com/2010/07/15/old-spice-stats/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295266/Old-Spice-adverts-masculine-ever.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

The Good

I’m a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee), who made his big break hosting Wine Library TV. He’s now a branding and business development thought leader. His Ted talk pretty much sums up what he is all about. His book “Crush it” is all about doing what you love and hustling to make your dreams come true.

The Bad

Oy! This video made me cringe…and laugh a little. The video parody itself is great, but the concept highlights some major flaws in modern day public relations. PR pros need to learn the differences between new media outlets and traditional ones. Plus the whole “social media expert” thing has become a running joke on Twitter due to overuse, so let’s only use it in a joking context from now on.

The Goofy

…is also sometimes “The brilliant!” If you’re a “New Dork” like me, you’ll enjoy it.

Secondly, I realized that I had some branding issues. I classified myself as a “Future PR Star” on my old blog. I went to a PRSSA National Conference in San Diego in November and realized that the reputation that comes with “PR” isn’t something with which I want to brand myself. Too often people think “media relations” when they think “PR.” That’s not me. Yes, I want to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. That’s “PR” by textbook definition. But times have changed for those two letters, and the reputation hasn’t kept up. Now we call what I want to do terms like “marketing,” “social media marketing,” “corporate communication,” and dozens more.

“PR” has expanded, so my personal brand needed a face-lift. One of my favorite PR professors asked on the first day of class, “Why are you here? You want to be hacks? Flacks? Spindoctors? Liars? That’s what people say when you tell them you’re in PR.”

No; I don’t want to be any of those things.

My goal with this newly redone blog and e-portfolio: Establish myself as a credible and experienced communicator with a passion for content creation and new media marketing. So check in on me every now and then. I just might accomplish that goal.

]]> http://ericleist.com/2010/02/01/my-blog-its-alive/feed/ 2 Eric It's Alive http://ericleist.com/2009/07/27/56/ http://ericleist.com/2009/07/27/56/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:27:20 +0000 Eric Leist http://ericleist.com/?p=56 ]]>
My business class team had to do presentations on emerging issues in business. We chose Social Media Marketing. Above is the presentation and below is the summary I wrote. Thanks and much credit to the rest of my team!

Social Media Marketing is the act of bypassing traditional communication channels to establish direct and meaningful relationships with current and potential customers. Over the past two years, there has been nothing short of a gold rush among businesses to establish a presence on social networking sites due to a high return on investment. Research from Forrester predicts that social media marketing, currently a $716 million industry, will grow to become a $3.1 billion industry over the next five years at the expense of offline advertising.

The driving theories behind social media marketing are much the same as for traditional marketing. They are slightly altered to fit the online nature of social networks. Because all media is now social media, meaning they can be shared, downloaded, uploaded and spread virally, these new methods are very effective in the online world.

Social media marketing is a pull method. It uses content disseminated through social networking channels so customers will be drawn in as opposed to interrupted. Content can include blog posts, videos, online contests, webinars, surveys, studies, cartoons, or anything that customers will find rewarding and valuable.

Customer relationship management becomes a much more possible and pronounced aspect of marketing online. An infinite number of feedback loops are now possible so that customers can easily tell a company what they think or feel about a product or idea without being wrangled up for a focus group. Additionally, personal selling shifts from the responsibility of employed salespeople to the enthusiasm of fans. One goal of social media marketing is to, through content and relationships, turn strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into salespeople.

In our research, we found that many businesses were being dragged into social media after experiencing a crisis or communication breakdown between the marketing department and customers. With 71% of Americans who have Internet access using social networks, this new type of marketing is going to be a necessary part of every marketing plan in the very near future. Businesses will forever strive to put a human face on their corporate name.

Disclosure has long been an issue for PR professionals. In the social media world, that issue is even more prevalent. If you’re going to speak on someone’s behalf, people want to know who you are and who’s paying your bills.

Monday, my boss had me post answers to questions on LinkedIn and Yahoo Answers claiming I “found this survey/white paper while researching” when in actuality, I was trying to drive leads to our client’s site.

Am I walking on shaky ground in misleading potential customers that way? I think coming from someone who claimed he isn’t “morally pliable enough to be a journalist,” this is an interesting conundrum. I’ll take away the moral dilemma and looking at the big picture.

Imagine two comments on a blog post or discussion board read:

1. Hey I found this in my research, what a great article! <link>

2. I’m representing a company that will fit your needs perfectly. Here’s a link to some of our content. <link>

I think I’m more likely to click on a link from a representative. Yeah, it doesn’t have that peer-to-peer sharing credibility, but I know I’m not getting spammed, and I respect the complete transparency. Also, I recognize someone who is ready, willing and able to make a meaningful contribution to my life or fulfill my needs and wants.