Dear Foursquare,

About a year ago, I broke up with you. It wasn’t because you were a bad app or I had poor experience, it just seemed that Mayors and first time check-ins were the only ones who truly benefited. I got over my badge collection quickly.

I still supported others to check-in and encouraged my clients to utilize you for their various businesses. But I did not think this was the platform for me.

I still remember the comments from Dennis Crowley, asking me to be patient with Foursquare; the team was working on updates.

So while I moved on to other apps and platforms, those words stuck with me. I kept my eye on the team at Foursquare through friends and other sources. While I can’t say I missed you, I was impressed by what I was hearing and seeing.

I have to say the many upgrades made over the past few months appear to be great improvements for both customers and retailers.

(Please Note: I have not used Foursquare since my first blog post.)

I applaud your innovations aimed at enticing more merchants to use your product, including the “Flash Special” and partnership with American Express. Very mature for such a young company, maybe it was the terrible 2.0’s that I did not find so appealing.

But the one upgrade that caught my attention is your new and improved photo-sharing integration. Smart move to integrate your own version of a photo-sharing app with privacy settings, it gives your users another layer with which to engage. You were also able to steal some thunder away from Color, who I thought was poised for a big splash.

The fact that users can organize photos by specific events, check-ins, or venues, shows me that you are thinking holistically. I am also intrigued with third party/web-based apps like airand, now there’s even more motivation for using Foursquare.

With the recent milestones (10 million users/500,000 merchants), puts me in the real minority and I am fine with that. I’m still undecided if I will come back but your changes and recent deals announcement are making the decision a bit more difficult.

Hugs and Badges,

Mike Wiz
@mjwizzy

P.S. Great execution on the Perry Ellis badges!

First of all, let me fill you in on why the social route taken has been out of necessity rather than choice. Before coming to Milwaukee my fiancé and I lived up in Wausau and worked for the CBS television station. A normal workday started at 2:00 in the afternoon and lasted until around 11:30 at night. Our “weekends” were actually Tuesdays and Wednesdays. With my lady originally from the Brew City, we knew before we moved down here that this was where our big day was going to take place. However, the hours, days and distance that we were faced up against forced us to start our journey online. Ever since, it’s continued to be the primary vehicle driving our wedding day planning and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Don’t get me wrong, not EVERYTHING has been done online. An example: our caterer and venue. We needed to visit each in person to be sure they were the right fit, but we did find both of them online to start with. All in all we found our venue, caterer, bar service, save-the-date’s and invitations, acoustic wedding band/DJ, favors, and honeymoon package all online. By-the-way, Etsy.com totally rocks if you’re looking for personal touches that are handmade by other users. The advantage of doing it this way for us was the immediate access to reviews. We aren’t from here so judging the who/what/where was difficult. Using platforms like Yelp and Tumblr we were able to see what others were thinking and take a pulse of the wedding industry and services available in the area.

As the big day grows near, I keep finding myself leaning on social media as a means to sure up the last minute details. We have our own wedding website (free on mywedding.com), coordinate missing RSVP’s through Facebook, and use YouTube as a medium to listen to and pick out our reception songs.

I wonder if I should “check in” on Foursquare the day of?

Have you used social media to help plan your big day? I’d love to hear how you’ve capitalized using these platforms.

East Town Association hosts Milwaukee classics such as Jazz in the Park, East Town Farmers’ Markets, Bastille Days and Firkin Fest. It is a non-profit organization composed of more than 200 businesses and 100 individuals that are passionate about the vitality of downtown Milwaukee and committed to making it a great place to live, work and play. East Town Association also partners with other organizations to produce Made in Milwaukee and the WMSE Backyard Barbecue.

As Director of Development, Peter specializes in connecting and building relationships between members of the community who strive to maintain Milwaukee’s rep as one of the best urban centers. Join us on Wednesday May 11, at 11 a.m. CST as we chat with Peter about the latest updates on downtown Milwaukee’s signature summer events.

You can tweet us questions for Peter during the show to @CometBranding. To listen, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

The Oregonian, recently utilized a dynamic application the utilizes Facebook photo tagging for fan engagement. Photographer Bruce Ely, leveraging the technology of GigaPan, created a vivid panoramic shot from the Timber’s home opener on Thursday, April 14^th. Ely utilized over 600 individual photos captured during a 45-minute span. This type of technology for fan engagement has been gaining more and more momentum over the past several months.

The photo was posted on the Oregonian’s website and fans were encouraged to use the GigaTag feature to tag themselves in the photo via their Facebook accounts. What’s different about this image versus traditional photography from a news channel is that it is extending audience engagement through a user experience that is incredibly unique after the event happens. In addition to being visually appealing, the technology allows others to see fan’s tags, find and tag their friends and have an opportunity to customize a message before they post their tagged photo to their Facebook stream. Users can also use the GigaPan Snapshot feature to share additional smaller photos from the larger composition.

The Oregonian launched a similar engagement tactic for a sporting event earlier this month during a Trailblazers vs. Lakers game. Other publications have used this technology during major sporting events including the World Series and The Final Four. Even other MLS teams, such as the Vancouver Whitecaps FC,  have leveraged this technology.

The possibilities for this technology and the opportunities to make it social and shareable are endless. From concerts, public gatherings, sporting events, festivals, to tradeshows, any number of brands could execute this as part of their social/ web engagement strategy. Plus it will also give the opportunities for journalists and publications to cover the game in a entirely new way.

However, similar to my recent posts about the photo app Color, I wonder if people will be concerned about their own privacy and not tag themselves in the photo?

What do you think of this technology? What types of engagement do you see this being leveraged around? Would you tag yourself in a photo? Do you think this will help drive web site traffic for publications?

How can my friends take television viewing into an online social space?

Enter Miso. Miso is a social platform that makes watching TV more fun. What’s more, Miso is changing the way we watch television. Through the social application, we’re able to check into a television program (or movie) and see who else has taken a seat in your social “living room.” Now, we can easily connect with people who have a similar taste in TV programing.

On Wednesday, April 20th at 11 a.m. CST, Comet Branding Radio returns to explore broadcast television and social viewing with our guest, Katie Smillie, responsible for Marketing and Products for Miso.

Click here to listen: Comet Branding Radio

After recently raising $1.5 million, led by Google Ventures and a new found partnership with the Oprah Winfrey Network, the entertainment check-in industry has built a groundswell of buzz in 2011. Miso continues to be a leader in the space and has recently made its API available to encourage others to join the space. (Dear Netflix – Please add this check-in feature to your live streaming!!!)

So download the app (Android or iPhone), give it a shot, come up with your own questions and join us as we talk with Katie live on Comet Branding Radio to discuss her role with Miso, how they are evolving broadcast television, and some of her favorite stories from within the company.

Click here to listen: Comet Branding Radio

Research.

Social media research is exciting to me because I enjoy learning a new topic and diving in from an outside perspective. Research is the most important part because in order to recommend and implement a social program, you have to understand how that particular audience behaves online.

So what exactly am I looking for? First, I look for where the audience engages so that we can focus our time in the right online space. To find these niche communities, I use traditional social media platforms as my starting point. From there, I follow the thought leaders and conversation starters and listen to what topics they’re excited about and discussing. It is typically through these conversation leaders that I discover the real scope of audience activity via associations and groups, events and conferences, trade publications, etc.

Appropriate platforms.

After discovering these niche communities in the research stage, I evaluate which platforms are the most appropriate for our clients to spend their time on. Like I mentioned before, not all social communication is on Facebook. If the decision makers you are trying to interact with don’t use Facebook, it doesn’t make sense for your brand to be putting time into that community. Embrace the existing industry-specific social networks that leaders are engaging in rather than create a branded community from scratch.

One platform I’ve consistently seen B2B success is LinkedIn. If even after your research is complete and you still feel overwhelmed, begin by optimizing your LinkedIn profile and connect with professionals, publications and other companies in your industry. Listening and participating in conversations are the first steps and LinkedIn Groups are easy tools that can lead you to industry thought leaders.

Customized content.

In order to build relationships online, rather than sell a product, it is important to not be overly self-promotional. It is more valuable to share content that showcases you and your organization’s expertise. This can be done by sharing industry related articles, commenting on discussions, offering advice to those seeking help and proposing questions to the community. Although we advise clients on which communities to join and how often to post, their level of expertise is important to their community. As an example, after all the research I’ve gathered on the plastics industry, I don’t pretend to be an expert in manufacturing. We work together with our clients to generate content directly from the experts themselves.

Community Engagement.

I’ve noticed that while many B2B communities are not large in size (#funfact: Did you know there are over 300 LinkedIn Groups related to the plastics industry?), the community is very engaged. For every industry, there are business leaders that have dedicated their careers to their industry and are hungry to learn more and share ideas. Pay attention to the discussion topics and participate frequently.

Have you encountered any barriers with your B2B social media strategy? Which platforms have you found to be successful, or unsuccessful, in your industry?

Launched last Wednesday for both iPhone and Android, Color has the ability to be the coolest, most unique photo-sharing app on the market; if you let it. Allow me to explain. The app allows users to share photos with anyone within 150 feet. Excited or a bit freaked out?

The functionality of the app seems very similar to other photo-sharing mobile apps. The user takes a photo or video and uploads it to the Color app network, nothing new here. But once it is uploaded, instead of going to your personal network, your photos are shared with any Color user within your immediate 150 foot radius.  Thus making your content public and viewable by anyone, friends or strangers.

But once you leave that radius, photos are no longer viewable in that photo stream.

Color is also a bit sophisticated in the fact that you can set your network features to allow others to view photos at anytime. It also has the ability to rank friendships in your stream. The more you are in contact with someone, the higher they rank in your contacts list. Regardless if you are friends with them.

Here’s where some people might get creeped out by the application. You do not have to know the person to have them appear in your list contacts. Just by using the app in close proximity to another user a few times will connect you.

Now, what is your thought … sound creepy or sound cool? 

Where Color might have the most relevance is in public places or at events like concerts and sporting events. The potential of having thousands of users taking pictures from various angles and different perspectives allows you to experience your surroundings from other people’s point-of-views. But the functionality can also been scene as a detractor as well. It’s yet another app you’re looking at instead of paying attention to what’s going on around you. Will it enhance your experience? Or detract & distract from it as so many apps do?

One other thing that makes Color even more unique is that it does not completely rely on GPS to locate users. It also can recognize similar lighting and ambient noise to help locate various users’ positions.

I personally am excited to start using this app. I am the type of person who likes to share experiences and Color will connect me with others who do as well.

What do you think about Color? Will you use it? Are you concerned with any privacy issues?

How about a live-tweeting, daily-blogging, comically-gifted extrovert from Milwaukee who shares his experiences with behind-the-scenes social media updates?

For the better part of the past decade, Bob Murray has worked in commercial real estate. For the past three months, he’s been planning a film that will document his quest to find love outside of his comfort zone, outside of Milwaukee, and outside of the ordinary.

Murray and his Milwaukee roots share a pretty rich and storied history together, but he’s about to put his romantic destiny in the hands of the Internet. After seeing the successes of online dating work for his friends, Murray is turning to the power of the web to help him fund his project, share the experience, and ultimately connect with his perfect match.

Using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and the crowdsource project-funding tool, Kickstarter, Murray hopes to engage his friends and followers to help him Date Across America.

Murray will join Dave Racine and Mike Wisniewski on Comet Branding Radio on Wednesday, March 16 at 11am CDT.

You can learn about Bob Murray and his project, Date America, on Facebook and watch his promotional trailer on kickstarter.

Get involved and Listen Live on Comet Branding Radio as we talk to Bob and take live tweet questions to @CometBranding – so tune in and prepare for an entertaining show.

Increasing brand engagement is always a top priority in our client work. To showcase our passion for social media and introduce our skills and personalities to our new coworkers, we put our heads together to take a traditional office warming party to the next social level. Mike joked of presenting 10 feet of taco dip, a known crowd pleaser, and the idea evolved into a contest between the social media + pr team.

Through this “Taco Dip-Off,” team members showcased their individuality and promoted their masterpieces through the Comet brand. We invited our new coworkers, friends and family to vote for their favorite by “liking” the photo in our Facebook album. Each creation sparked an interesting conversation and was a great chance to get to know our new teammates.

After party go-ers made their way through the taco dip buffet, it was time for the main course: dishwasher chicken. When we first heard that our new office had its own dishwasher, Mike joked, again, about an article he read on cooking chicken in a dishwasher. We knew we couldn’t be the only people curious if this was possible, so we captured it on video to share with our in-house and online audiences. We posted a quick response code on the outside of the new dishwasher and our guests immediately connected to our YouTube video of Mike preparing dishwasher chicken.

With the increase in smartphone users, QR codes are a growing trend in the social media space and we are always seeking new ways for our clients to tap into their mobile audiences. Download a QR code reader, like QR Droid or QR app on your smartphone, scan the QR code below and watch the making of dishwasher chicken!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our office warming party (either in person or online). Stop by anytime and share your favorite dishwasher chicken recipe!

The first one is from Lupe Fiasco, a well-known hip-hop artist. When he launched his new album, instead of turning to traditional media, Lupe and his management team leveraged QR codes to support the launch of his new record Lasers.

The QR code was projected on a building in the center of San Francisco and enabled fans that scanned the code to pre-order the album on the spot, purchase merchandise and receive other special goodies. The QR code was integrated into a full social media campaign that was supported through Facebook, Twitter and his website which helped drive fans to Union Square to show their support.

The second great use of a QR Code is by the group The Odd Future. Last week they were the musical guests on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Before the performance, Fallon held up an LP-size QR code, when viewed with the proper app, led viewers to the band’s website. The site featured a video of Tyler The Creator’s “Yonkers.” The result of the plug was a huge spike in overall video views, receiving more than 50,000 views when the show was broadcasted.

To date the video has received more than 1,000,000 views. The success of this tactic had been demonstrated when it became a became a trending topic on Twitter.

Gone are the old day where musicians solely promote their album via traditional media. These types of out of the box thinking and campaign integration will help artists create memorable fan engagements.

What do you think of these tactics? What other QR code activations or campaigns do you feel were effective? Do you currently scan QR codes?