Different Levels of Twitter Engagement

Twitter takes time. While running a client's handle I've found myself neglecting my own, yes, I'm on the brink of becoming a Lurker, and that led me to think about the wide range of engagement on Twitter.The Lurker: You can usually spot this one as they have an egg-shaped profile pic, no bio and usually under 10 tweets. There are a lot of Lurkers on Twitter. Lurkers can be valuable to some though because they are often there to listen.

Lazy Man's Twitter: You can spot this one a mile away. They have tied their Facebook account to their Twitter, they tend to only pump out their messages and rarely retweet or respond to anyone. Twitter has basically become their firehose. I'd take a Lurker over a Lazy Man any day. These types of Twitterers probably won't do you much good because they aren't in it to be an active participant in the Twittersphere, they are really in it for themselves.

Actively Engaged: This person is following others and being followed. They share relevant links, retweet others and reach out. In other words they play nicely on Twitter. These are gems. Follow them and interact with them. These folks can potentially help you spread your message, if it is one worth sharing, and raise awareness about you with their own followers.

Overly Engaged: These tweeters may appear way too often in your stream of tweets. You can probably recognize these people as the ones you contemplate unfollowing at least once a week. Their heart is in the right place, but they just don't know when to stop. Perhaps they're suffering from a bit of loneliness in the offline world? While irritating at times, these tweeters live to tweet and will most likely engage with you and provide an enlightening nugget from time to time. One out of every 100 tweets has got to be somewhat good right?

Did I miss a bucket? More importantly where do you see yourself along this engagement spectrum?

Is Social Media the Next Dot-Com Bust?

After a few glasses of wine, my dearest friend leaned over to me and said, "I read this article that said social media is going to be the next dot-com bust. I didn't want to tell you but I thought you should know."For a second I panicked. After all, I just started a business centered around social media, but then, two breaths later I regrouped. People may overpay for Facebook stock, Twitter may never successfully make money and all the location based networks could be scooped by the next best thing, but I don't think people are going to give up social quite yet. And it dawned on me, perhaps a bit late in the game, that it really isn't about the network you are on, but rather about what social allows:

- A quick and easy way to spread information.

- A voice that businesses/government/organizations will listen too.

- An easy way to maintain connections. The lazy man's friend.

- An easy way to meet new people and get new ideas.

I can't see people giving any of that up anytime soon. Facebook may fall, but social as a form of communication is here to stay, and companies are going to need help figuring out the best way to leverage social and how they are going to support their social efforts.

Phew, indeed.

What makes a good promoted tweet

Promoted Tweets/Trends have been popping up quite regularly since Twitter has offered the service, but some companies have missed the boat when choosing their signature #hashtag that accompanies the buy.How does it work? Companies can pay Twitter money to be included among the the trending topics list on Twitter. You can either pick your own branded hashtag or topic, or you could hand over the reigns and pick a #hashtag that has been made popular by Twitter users.

What are Trending Topics you ask? Trending Topics are a list of topics that are chosen by a fancy Twitter algorithm - I see them as here's what people are talking about now. Many times people will click on the trending topic to see what others have to say about it, or use the trending topic in their own tweet if they want to join in on the conversation. Same goes for a promoted trend, people can click on your trending topic and when they do, they will automatically see your company's promoted tweet at the top of the list. Can be a bit confusing if you aren't familiar with Twitter. But for those who are, logic would tell us if you pick a trending phrase that is engaging and interesting to a wide audience, you'll not only get a lot of participation but a lot of exposure.

Pillsbury did it well with their play off of  the already trending  #lemmeguess and Coke did it well when they picked the already trending #alliwant.

But when companies insist on including their own brand name like Pizza Hut's #ReadySetHut or a car company who simply used the name of their new model as the hashtag, it turns out to be a pretty awkward experience for both the Twitter user and the brand. The point of the #hashtag is to pick something broad enough that everyone can participate in, and it should be something that can lead to a larger discussion. #ReadySetHut  is somewhat limiting when you compare it to #alliwant.

By not making the ad buy all about them, my guess is Coke and Pillsbury probably had much more participation. More participation probably lead to much more exposure, signaling a win-win for both brand and Twitter user.

There's always something refreshing about a brand taking the back seat versus shoving itself down your throat, especially in social. #lookatmybrand.

Sharing Bite Sized Content: True Blood

Let's face it. People want short and sweet on social. Twitter forces you to keep it brief thanks to its 140 character limit and even Facebook will cut you off  if you attempt too long of an update.But short doesn't mean bad.  In fact if you do it right you can use this limitation to your advantage, especially if you are concerned about having enough content to post.

True Blood has really mastered taking a wee bit of content to make a big impact. The show could go silent during its off season, but instead they pick and choose some of the wittiest, most memorable one-liners from previous episodes and dribble them out a couple times a week. These quotes are a great way to keep fans engaged and spark a tremendous amount of conversation as fans rehash their favorite episodes.

Authors can also take advantage of this technique. Sure your book's 500 pages may seem a bit overwhelming if you are faced with a  140 character limitation, but that hasn't seemed to phase motivational author Deepak Chopra. You'll find  inspiring lines and ideas from his books on Twitter on a regular basis.

If you have something that doesn't seem bite-sized at first think about how you can divvy it up into short, interesting bursts of content that bring the larger project to life. After all, content is all around us, figuring out how to serve it up right - a.k.a. not shoveling too much in one post and having the patience to let it reveal itself over time - can be the tricky part.

True Blood “You may be the strongest, oldest vampire in my queendom, but if I wanted, I could own your fangs as earrings.” – Sophie Anne

DeepakChopra Self acceptance leads to success, not the other way around.

Twitter versus Facebook Audiences

When thinking about Facebook and Twitter the two audiences tend to be quite different. At least they are for me.Facebook is a group of people I've collected throughout the years - from a kindergarten friend to a woman I met at a dinner club last week. We are connected because of life experiences not necessarily interests. There are a few brands spread among my friend list but for the most part that's because I have an emotional connection to them - I almost think of them as a buddy.

Twitter is a group of people who share a similar interest.  For me, my Twitter list consists of technology/ social media experts and resources and Louisville businesses, media outlets and organizations. There are a few folks on Twitter that I'm friends with on Facebook but the crossover is pretty slim.

My Twitter followers help keep me "in the know." My Facebook friends help support me on an emotional level - whether that is liking my wedding photos or giving words of encouragement when I've had a not so good day.

As business owners of a FB page or Twitter account think about how you can fulfill these roles for your followers. How can you make your Twitter followers smarter - what tidbits can you give them? (Someone on Twitter is almost 3 times as likely to follow a brand than the average social network user by the way). When it comes to Facebook, how can you act as a friend  -  ask for support and feedback, share good news, and make sure your status updates have a human quality to them?

Next time you are switching back and forth between those two networks, think about how you behave differently and who you follow. Some Friday food for thought.

Facebook's Top 10 Tips for Non-Profits

Just sat through a Facebook Live Chat for non-profits where they offered up their top 10 tips on leveraging Facebook. In case you missed it....1. Create a voice that is personable and authentic. People want to connect with personalities not logos. Facebook pointed to American Red Cross as a brand that does this well.

2. Set up themed days - Fan Fridays, or Kick off the Week Right Mondays. Also be sure to tap into world events and holidays to draw people in. Facebook pointed to the Humane Society's recent Big Cat Week, where they featured facts and photos of cats, as a good example.

3. Create exclusive content and programs. Don't just repurpose your website content. Do something unique for fans. Facebook pointed to a  Haiti relief organization which showed exclusive videos of Nicole Kidman volunteering.

4. Use visuals. Toms Shoes takes photos of children receiving shoes around the world. Much more interesting than a text update saying "we delivered 100 pairs of shoes in Argentina."

5. Make sure you push and pull. Ask questions as well as providing information. Facebook pointed to the Nature Conservancy as a good example. The organization recently asked fans "What's your resolution for nature in 2011?"

6. Make supporters the stars. Comment back to people and give people shoutouts. The more connected people are the more they will support you.  Facebook highlighted (RED) as an organization that features a fan photo of the week.

7. Engage other partners, especially those with large followings. Consider fellow non-profits as well as your board members and corp. sponsors. Facebook highlighted Delta and Habitat for  Humanity as a good example. Delta created an app that allowed fans to vote on which city Delta employees should build a Habitat House.

8. Get creative with Facebook features with offerings like FB Places. Facebook mentioned a Stand up to Cancer event where people checked in to the event using Places to show their support, ultimately raising awareness for the organization.

9. Know your supporters. Be sure to monitor your insights so you can craft  relevant messages.

10. Market your presence -Include a Facebook Fanbox on your website and your Facebook url on marketing materials.

Permission to Have Fun on Facebook

There's a restaurant in Louisville, Ky, called Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Its food is good, its wait staff friendly, but its reputation outshines many other equally good restaurants in town. Bobby Flay has stopped to film a Food Network Challenge there, celebrities in town for Derby are sure to book a table, and every weekend without fail there's a line out the door. Why? Because Lynn's Paradise Cafe knows how to have fun. There's a gift shop in the waiting area with ridiculous, unique gifts, there's a large stand up of a fork and spoon in the parking lot you can stick your head into and get your picture taken and there are toys on the table for you to play with, yes, even the adults, as you wait for your bourbon-infused pancakes. From the moment you pull up to the moment you leave you are in an environment that is fun.Your social presence should be the same. People aren't on Facebook to be serious, they want to have fun. A recent study says 49% of people follow brands because they want fun engaging content and only 16% follow brands because they want information on the brand. Makes sense to me. So how do you have fun with your fans? Let's take a few lessons from Lynn's:

1. Create something for them to do. Much like trying on quirky hats in the gift shop or playing with rubber dinosaurs at the table, you should give your fans something to do on social. Maybe it's as simple as throwing out a few trivia questions or having them think of words that rhyme with your brand name. It doesn't have to be rocket science, but it should be something light, fun and easy for them to participate in.

2. Stretch their imagination. The colorful decor and tree made of teabags in the middle of the restaurant make you feel like you are in another world when you're dining at Lynn's. While visuals are sometimes limited on social, there's no reason your fans can't help you dream up a new world for your brand - suggest new flavors, suggest new ways to serve or use your product.

3. Project fun. Even if you are having a bad day, it's hard to be miserable at Lynn's. There's just something about being surrounded by an atmosphere of fun that makes you want to be fun too. Have fun with your social voice, post fun content, think of fun promotions online. If BlendTec can make a blender fun, so can you with your business. When people are having fun, they are happy. When they are happy they are associating positive thoughts with your brand, company, organization. Good leads to good leads to more good.

At the end of the day Joe Schmo up the street may have better pancakes, but he doesn't make me smile. Guess where I'm going for breakfast, despite the long wait?

4 Ways to Share Content on Twitter

I've delved into the world of Twitter a bit more for a client and have been thinking  about the different ways in which you can pass content on. Here are the four main buckets and the role each one plays. Feel free to tag more on if I've left one out.1.       Original Content – Sharing original content about yourself, organization or brand.

• Benefit to followers: If good, the original content entertains or educates.
• Benefit to you: A good chance for more exposure if people re-tweet your content. Also a good chance to create a deeper connection if the post creates a conversation with individual followers.

2.       Retweet – Repurpose someone else’s content.

• Benefit to followers: Potentially exposes them to someone new that they may find interesting.
• Benefit to you: Provides you with valuable content for your followers. Shows you are listening to what others have to say.

3.       @ Reply – A response to someone's tweet.

• Benefit to followers: They may have had a similar question or thought and can then  jump into the conversation.
• Benefit to you: Provides you with a chance to create deeper connections one–on-one.

4.       DM – A private message.

• Benefit to followers: None really aside from the person who receives the message.
• Benefit to you: Allows you to share info that may not be relevant to the “masses.”

2011 Four Areas of Growth for Social

Four areas of social that I see becoming more prominent in 2011. Fingers crossed that I'm right.

1. Facebook: Facebook will continue to innovate and dominate.  They just surpassed Google for goodness sake. From Places to Deals to Community and Friendship pages Facebook was throwing out a new curveball every few months in 2010. My tip: It's Facebook's world, and each change they roll out is usually part of their bigger master plan. I try to spend less time complaining about the small changes and more time trying to figure out what direction Facebook is heading in order to stay ahead of the curve.

2. Traditional Media: Social Media will continue to invade Traditional Media. Not only are businesses hosting profiles on social media they are incorporating social into their more "traditional" elements - advertisements, websites, email campaigns.  My tip: Putting social front and center on marketing materials not only makes you look relevant, but more importantly sends a message that you are open to a two-way conversation. It's also a great way to extend the conversation beyond a TV ad, piece of point of sale, brochure, etc.

3. Mobile: Mobile + Social is going to continue to revolutionize the space. Whether it is tapping into the GPS function for a social check-in or using your phone camera  to instantly upload pictures from an event, meal, night out with friends...mobile allows people to tell their stories right then and there. It also allows people to reap instant benefits. I think more companies will take advantage of Foursquare, Facebook Deals, Stickybits in 2011. My tip: If you own a space where customers come to or are hosting an event think about ways you can provide a social experience via mobile, because you know they are going to be checking that phone at some point.

4. Social Media Consultants/Agencies: (Slightly biased here) Social is a full-time job and to do it well people will need some extra support. It's one thing to set aside time to update your status, it is quite another thing to stay on top of the ever-changing world of social media. Keeping up with the new players, the trends and how to best leverage all those Facebook changes can be time consuming. My tip: If you don't have time to dedicate to social or don't have the interest, find a partner who does. It can be a crazy but exciting world out there and a little help navigating it never hurt.

Here's to 2011 and more exciting things ahead. What do you see growing in social in 2011?

Bottling Laughter - Coke

It's easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest apps and games and it is also easy to work in silos within your marketing team. What's hard to do is to define what your brand stands for and then keep true to that message through the line - print, digital, pr, etc.Coke is one of those brands that just gets it. The brand is all about making people happy, spreading joy and smiles. Their tagline - Open Happiness - conveys that as does one of their latest digital plays the Smileizer. Consumers can log on to the Smileizer site and record their laughter. Coke will donate money to a charity for every laugh recorded, which is a nice touch, but what's even better than hearing your own laughter encased in a bubble is hearing everyone else's laughter recorded. It doesn't matter if you know the person or not, it is just the sound of ridiculous laughter that starts off "forced" and then erupts into something real. Before you know it, you're laughing too.

You can share your recorded laughs or others' laughs via Twitter and Facebook, and before you know it, you are spreading happiness. The whole program  works because it puts a smile on your face and it makes you feel all happy and warm inside about Coke. It also aligns perfectly with their other marketing messages.

If Coke is all about happiness, what's your brand about?

Geico Taps into YouTube's Xtranormal

Last night while watching TV I was surprised to see those cute cuddly Xtranormal bears er..dogs from the iPhone 4 viral video made popular on YouTube. Instead of debating the merits of Apple this time they were promoting Geico.It was really a duh moment. What a clever, easy way to capture people's attention and automatically tap into something that was culturally relevant. This worked for a couple of reasons.

1. Geico isn't afraid to try someting new.

2. Geico knows at the end of the day people want to be entertained whether it is a talking lizard or a pig with pinwheels.

3. Geico puts the customer first and then cleverly weaves in their message. If people love these little robotic cartoon characters, then let's give them the little robotic cartoon characters.

On a side note, later that night a commercial for CarFax appeared along with an animal mascot - Car Fox. It reminded me of the simple play off of Geico / Gecko, but this didn't work at all. The Fox looked stiff like he was clearly a puppet, had little personality, and evoked no emotion from me. Point being, you can't just throw an animal in your ad and call it a day.

Back to Geico, social media is a great place for marketers to get a pulse on what's making people smile these days. What crazy video has gone viral, what games have errupted across Facebook, what topics are trending on Twitter? If you are smart and use this to your advantage, you can be relevant very quickly to a mass audience. You just have to have the courage to try and the willingness to listen.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3vTNJ7Ym6Y&feature=related]

High Tech Holidays: Goodbye Cards

My mother told me I would not be getting a Christmas card in the mail this year.  Despite the fact that they are financially sound she said they were cutting back because of the economy. As if to justify her position, she assured me that many people were cutting back on holiday cards. Which got me thinking, is it the economy or is it the fact that people are becoming so used to sending quick messages to a wide audience via social and mobile, that the thought of hand addressing a card becomes much too tedious?

My husband, for example, wanted to send an evite out for our wedding invitation. I squashed the idea despite the fact it was very tempting. As much as I love the holidays I also semi-dread handwriting the cards.  My penmanship isn't the greatest and I'm constantly searching  for stamps and people's postal addresses.

Traditional companies like Hallmark, which have recognized online competition for years now, are forced to reinvent themselves. I just saw a commercial where Hallmark has incorporated augmented reality into their cards so you can actually play scenes from the Charlie Brown Christmas Movie by holding the card up to your web cam. Smart, but doesn't solve the problem of making a trip to the mailbox or getting a hand cramp from writing. And of course, paper card companies also have e-cards, which are old hat now. There's something acceptable about sending an e-card for a birthday but not as acceptable for the Holidays or for a thank you note. That is a completely imaginary rule I made up, but one which I have lived by in the past nonetheless.

I have no doubt that in time, sending "real" holiday cards will be replaced completely by virtual cards. Yes, it will be slightly sad, but in the end it will allow us more time to shop, bake and spend face-to-face time with our loved ones. So to my Family and Friends, I'll be updating my Facebook status with a big old Merry Christmas on Dec. 25 and if you're ready to make that leap,  I invite you to join.

Twitter a Global Conversation

When the World Cup locations were announced, Twitter was a tweet about Qatar and Quatar and Katar (all top trends, have to love the decreasing importance of spelling things right). Within moments a global audience was sharing their thoughts on whether or not Qatar deserved a bid because obtaining alcohol would be difficult and what fun is World Cup without a drink in your hand? Or so I'm told.Now, your Facebook friends may not care about the World Cup, but on Twitter, where you can easily tap into people from around the world, the conversation was robust. Which got me thinking. What role does Twitter play in conversation?

With Facebook I may share inside jokes, personal photos and college memories, but Twitter, well Twitter is more about sharing info on your interests and less about what is interesting about me.

On Twitter, I've never met 80% of my "friends," so I certainly don't follow them because we've shared good times together, although you never know that may happen one day. I follow them because they are smart or interesting or useful to me. Twitter behaves in a similar role to a brand/organization Facebook page. It's often a conversation starter between people who have similar interests but most likely don't know one another. It's a place for people to share their passion about their interests.

Knowing this, think about how you can maximise your role on Twitter.

1. Share useful links. Be that information resource.

2. Follow people who have the same interests. If you love the Indianapolis Colts, follow other Colts fans, follow reporters who cover the Colts. Don't follow me, because I'll most likely never talk football.

3. Save the personal, personal for your Facebook friends, you know the ones who actually care if you ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

At the end of the day social networks are tools which you can use to connect in different ways. Knowing the role of the tool and how to use it will allow you to get the most of your social networking efforts.

7 tips for raising engagement rates on Facebook

There is nothing more disheartening than putting up a post and then checking your insights to see there was little or no response. They've come, they've fanned you and they've stuck around so you know they like you a little, even if they aren't responding. The key question is how do you jumpstart a like to a love? Since social media allows you to test and re-test try these tips and watch to see what happens.1. Look at the frequency of your posting. Too many posts may dissuade people from feeling the urgent need to respond. Why like this post when I know ten more are just around the corner?

2. Check yourself. Look at the content of your post. Is it something that is important to you and your organization only or is it something that your fans would find amusing or useful?

3. Look at the previous posts. When was engagement the highest? What types of topics got your fan base talking? The good thing about social is people will tell you what they like. It's your job to take notice.

4. Look at the length of your post. Time and time again, I've found the shorter the post, the higher the engagement.

5. Look at the wall posts generated by fans that aren't in response to a post you put up. What questions are they asking? What pictures are they posting? What topics are they starting without you even prompting them? These proactive posts will give you insight into what types of things your audience wants to talk about.

6. Look at the time of day you post. Test a few different times and see if engagement levels change. Maybe your fans are more apt to check Facebook on their lunch hour.

7. Finally, are you setting yourself up for engagement? Are your posts asking for people's responses or are they just telling them info. Not every post has to end with a question, but you should give people a nudge to participate from time to time. "Happy Thanksgiving" is very different from "What are you looking forward to eating the most this Thanksgiving?"

Here's to seeing more action on your insights page, and remember they like you, they already said they like you, so chin up.

Timberlake is off Twitter. Don’t Panic Yet.

It's always interesting to see how people can get creative to raise money. Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga are all signing off from social networks on World AIDS Day for the Digital Life Sacrifice event which benefits Keep a Child Alive. The stars will go back online after the charity has raised $1 million. It seems a bit egocentric to me that us mere mortals won't be able to live without the twittering of Timberlake and will actually have to break down and pay to get him back. Then again someone did pay thousands of dollars for Justin Bieber to follow them on Twitter for charity, so you never know.Regardless if it raises awareness and dollars it can't be a bad thing. I guess I just think there should be a bit more effort from the celeb then just not updating their status.

What do you think?

http://buylife.org/

Update: As of 12/3 the celebs have raised $183K. A substantial amount no doubt, but it will be interesting to see if they can sustain a movement without a voice.

Facebook Messaging - Faster, Faster

Is it weird to think that email may be out of date? Typewriters sure, fountain pens you betcha, but email is e-tastic. The truth is I've found myself emailing with colleagues wishing they would head over to the Chat/IM function. Look if we are making lunch plans, I don't need to wait for you to craft an email and think of a clever subject line. An IM will do just fine. So it's not totally surprising that Facebook heard other people saying email is too slow and jumped on it by rolling out Facebook Messaging - a new form of communication that is more integrated with IM, text and social.Most are saying Facebook Messages is not an email killer, and that may be , but one day something is bound to replace email. And when it does something newer, faster, more efficient will come to life no doubt. Happens all the time with everything. So perhaps Facebook messaging is not cutting us off from email but rather easing us into this idea of change.

Know Your Audience - Don't Text a Facebooker

In this age of multiple devices and ways to reach people, I find it curious how my friends have attached themselves to one preferred method over another. If you want to reach Kristin - text is a 50/50 shot but Facebook will guarantee a response. My friend Sara on the other hand is a text junkie, I know that will warrant a response much quicker than a social network ping. My husband loves his blackberry so he'll respond quicker to an email, even more so than a phone call for some reason, perhaps I should take issue with that. And finally, my friend Amy is one of the last few people I know that will respond to a phone call with a phone call back the same day.I don't have this written down anywhere. I just know. After trial and error and seeing where they spend their time and whether they do or don't respond to one method, I've sorted it out in my head. You should do the same with your audience. Find out where people are talking about you, where you get the greatest response when you put out a message and be there. Don't build an iPhone app if your audience is all on Blackberry or hasn't made the smartphone transition. Don't put a lot of effort into one social network just because you've heard other people using it. Know your audience, know how they like to communicate. Figure this out and you are one step closer to getting them to listen.

Guilty Twitter Pleasures - Shamefully Snooki

For me, Facebook is for friends and brands that I consider "friends" and Twitter is for information. I use it to stay current with the latest in social media and local happenings. But stuck somewhere between Mashable and WFPL is my guilty pleasure - @sn00ki (Nicole P. from The Jersey Shore).She certainly doesn't make me smarter, she doesn't help me decide what to do on the weekend, but darn it if she doesn't fascinate me all the same. There's something about Snooki and her five foot poof that makes me admire her. Somewhere between judging her and poking fun, she made America fall in love with her without them even realizing it, and all along she smiled and remained true to herself. There's also a shameful piece of me that watches her because I still think there's a train wreck waiting to take place and I want to be on the forefront of her Tweets if it happens.

My husband on the other hand uses Twitter to stay current on sports and news, and his guilty pleasure is Kenny Powers persona @KfuckingP. I think he quotes him on a every other day basis.

Whether it's a self proclaimed guidette or a washed up ball player, it takes all kinds to make a social network vibrant, and while I would argue most of the well-followed Twitter handles do provide legit information, there is space out there for the guilty pleasures. Who is your favorite guilty pleasure to follow? That is if you aren't too embarrassed to admit it of course.

It’s Not About Location, It’s About Deals

The Pew Research Center came out with a study saying only 4% of people are using location based services. Mashable points out a few flaws in the study - one being they interviewed people via the phone, potentially landline phone. I'm kind of shocked they even found 4% of people this way.The truth is location is growing and with Facebook Places just announcing Facebook Deals, location is sure to grow even more. For some checking in will always be about the "look at me" factor. I'm somewhere cool and I want you to know. But for most I predict checking in will be about what's in it for me, and nothing peaks people's interests more than free stuff or deals. For example, The Gap is making a splash today by giving away 10,000 pairs of jeans. At a retail value of $60, that's worth checking in and actually driving me back to the Gap, a store that's long fallen off my radar screen.

At the end of the day location is simply a more efficient way of clipping coupons and providing value at the point of purchase. There will always be people who feel it is too big brother, but for the majority, I believe the benefits/deals will wash out any fear of being followed.

If Facebook Deals does explode in a way that Groupon and other online coupon offerings have, I hope that one day we can stop printing up all those circulars I throw away every week. In the future just sending out coupons on a hope and a whim to everyone will seem slightly ridiculous, when we can simply check-in to what we really want.

Are you Ready to Live in Public?

I had never heard of Josh Harris until I recently watched the documentary We Live in Public, and I haven't been able to shake him since. Josh Harris, a dot-com entrepreneur, was too early for his time. Too early for reality TV, too early for video chat, but yet he predicted all of it in the late 90s.Having lost almost all his fortune, he moved to Ethiopia and now he's back pushing his idea of a new type of social network, one where we are all creating our own programming from the luxury of our home. Instead of the more static photos and typed status updates, imagine saying your social posts to a camera and showing them live.  There may be the shave cam sponsored by Gillette for example, the Hungry Man cam showing people eating, and so on.

This idea both scares me and excites me. Partly because Josh had a nervous breakdown during his trial run of living in public where he wired his Manhattan studio with cameras, and partly because it would revolutionize advertising. Advertisers would reach people at relevant times and actually showcase people using their products.

In a time period where it seems like many movies and TV shows are reworked content from the past - just watched Clash of the Titans remake and found out the new TV show Outsourced was a movie a few years ago - it seems the only original content we have comes from reality.

So will you log on to Josh Harris' Wired City and start broadcasting from the comfort of your own couch? Or will Josh be packing his bags and running from creditors again because he was a smidge too early on this one? As I stare at the video chat on my iPhone and the built-in camera in my laptop I'm not too sure where this will head.