Archive for the ‘Discussion’ Category

Even if – or maybe even because – Facebook just fueled the check-in hype with Places, the veterans in the market, Foursquare and Gowalla, are being as boring as rocks. At least Foursquare wants to release a new feature, though. Read the rest of this entry »

Just how important the personal website is in the times of social media definitely brings up some opposing ideas, especially when discussing the involvement of a firm in the Web 2.0 world. When it comes to small- to medium-sized industries, Telegate (11880, Klicktel) has found an unusual answer – the Munich-based firm is helping online companies to build their own web presence. Read the rest of this entry »

Technically, Google seems to have finally gotten it: whoever wants to win over the middle-class has to work for it. Somehow, the idea has caught on that the world doesn’t belong to Google, as a new “service-offensive” shows. Read the rest of this entry »

Google is still treading on eggshells when it comes to its social media route. Wave has finally been put to rest and Places is getting an extra treat for business owners: they can now directly respond to user ratings. Read the rest of this entry »

What if SMEs and SOHOs suddenly had a new means of direct marketing literally in the palm of their hands? Thanks to Mark McCormack’s new website, uPromote.it, this is possible.

The principle behind the concept is that promotions can be created with just a few steps using a mobile device, proceeding to be quickly distributed to a broad range of points including Facebook, Twitter, SMS, and Email.

Though the marketing is primarily focused on current customers, the contacts of those customers are also easily accessed through social networking. In other words, there is an unlimited amount of potential customers to be accessed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Check-ins have actually always been social: whether through Foursquare, Gowalla, and whatever other programs that are out there, checking-in and letting your friends know where you are and what you’re up to is just about the most “social” feature available by location-based sevices. So what does it mean when competitor SCVNGR is talking about “social check-ins?” Read the rest of this entry »

Checking in can get old after a while. Checking in, collecting points, checking in, collecting points…Brightkite has had a new idea – or at least it should come across that way. The Californians have enhanced their badges with new levels. Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, what is geofencing? Basically, it’s a series of virtual perimeters for real-world geographic areas. In other words, geofencing is the process of creating virtual borders for the purpose, of say, being alerted of events in your current area, or perhaps of friends who are around the corner. So what does this mean for location-based technologies? Read the rest of this entry »

The latest W3B study from the market development and advising company Fittkau & Maß Consulting revealed some surprising information: 62% of the current internet users on social networks visit the sites on a regular basis (at least once a week) but only 35%, and from this group merely 40% are really active users. The majority is rather passive, in other words, watches from the sidelines. Read the rest of this entry »

Internet-user evaluations of undertakings or service providers, such as those possible on dialo.de, kennstdueinen.de [en=doyouknowone] or Qype.com are one thing, but portals that encourage actual “cybermobbing” are something altogether different.