Author Archives: Kaitlyn White

SXSW Day 4: The Network Effect of Foursquare

15th March 2011

It’s never easy explaining Foursquare to friends outside of the social media world. “So you check-in, get a virtual sticker and once in a while find a coupon…right.” Well yes, sort-of.

If you have downloaded Foursquare 3.0 in the last week, it’s clear to see Foursquare sees itself as far more than virtual stickers and 10% of coffee every 10 check-ins. Today, Dennis Crowley, Co-Founder of Foursquare, set the record straight and gave SXSW a glimpse into how the app is changing the way people interact through technology.

Crowley explained how the vision for Foursquare all along has always been more than badges. The vision has been taking the device in your pocket and creating an archived experience, a history of where you have been, with who and where you are off to next. Think Amazon, for daily activities he says.

Foursquare 3.0 and beyond will strike the core motivation behind location based technology of connections and then keep them all in one place for you. For example, when I arrived in Austin a few days ago and checked-into the airport I was greeted with a message saying “the last time you were in Texas was in October 2010 with Kate Larson.” Now that’s cool. It’s not all about where am I right now, but where have I been and where my friends advise I should head next.

While deals platforms like Groupon succeed in driving new customers, Foursquare is focusing it’s sights on repeat customers and loyalty. So far 250,000 merchants have activated deals on Foursquare, they are building communities, digital and physical and are reaping the rewards.

Driving users who are ready to explore their own backyard is what Foursquare is all about, and the path is quickly becoming clear. “It’s more than cute, we are making neighborhoods easier to use and encouraging people to do more interesting things” says Crowley. After today’s discussion, I now know I have a few more motivating factors in my location based defense and I personally cannot wait to see how this space expands in 2011.

SXSW Day 3: Reaching the People that Count

14th March 2011

Today I had the opportunity to attend a panel focused on influencers and how to reach them called “Influencer Throwdown: Proving Influence Once and For All.”

At Engauge we often find that building a one size fits all campaign does not reach its full potential. However, curate a community of influencers, and we just might unlock the doors to the right audience. The difficulty is defining, building and interacting with that audience – a task that is often times easier captured in a brief than accomplished.

When searching for influencers, it’s easy to focus on Klout score, follower count or the number of retweets a person may have, but is that the best way to derive action from your community?

At the end of the day influence is meant to do one thing: drive action, not impressions. Shiny celebrities online may present a message to a large audience, but if that influencer is not a authentic advocate of your brand, what good does it do?

Panelist Krista Neher described it best when she recounted having been solicited to try a new product on behalf of a bean bag company which she had previously raved about to followers. She accepted and was able to spread an authentic and real position on the brand. Her influence not only had to do with the size of her audience, but also an audience willing to listen and react.

While tools such as Klout or numbers such as following should always be a part of your brand’s influencer strategy, don’t let it define it. Look beyond counting people that reach and for the people that count and you’re sure to find new advocates along the way.

SXSW Day 2: Everything is Only 1% Finished

13th March 2011

Today I had the opportunity to visit the new Facebook Austin offices. The space largely unfinished with an industrial feel. Digging deeper, the team explained the reasoning behind the design, everything we do should always be only 1% finished.

There is always a problem to be solved, and a problem still exists not because its solution is impossible, but that someone hasn’t been impatient enough to do something about it.

A professor of mine at UGA, Dr. Scott Shamp, always challenged his students to make something work, then make it work better. These same mentalities can be applied to everything SXSW is about. Innovating, pushing the envelope and changing the way people interact.

Social moves beyond a singular tweet or Facebook post and in-between your TV, mobile phone, a screen at an event and beyond. It’s always 99% new, 1% familiar. The platforms, devices and apps will change, it’s our job to learn how, why and when people will interact with technology in their daily lives and hopefully learn to be a little more impatient while getting there.