Foursquare and FourWhere

Foursquare and FourWhere

So what's the concept of Foursquare/FourWhere and why is it good for local businesses and Resident Links?

·         Foursquare is a social network for meeting up with your friends and discovering new places. You can check into restaurants, bars, museums, and other locations to let your friends know where you are and see who else is there.  This is a perfect platform for Resident Links to work from but it can focus on specific local communities and businesses.

·          FourWhere makes it easy to visualize comments/tips left by Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp users. If, for example, if you're looking for a place to meet for coffee, you can use FourWhere to find cafes and restaurants nearby and make an informed decision based on user reviews.

·         It brings these users together using the public data from Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and the Google Maps API.  This allows it to automatically retrieve and aggregate user comments and visualize them on the map.

·         To use the application you provide your location, and then click on the map to see venues (locations) or tips (comments written about a particular place).  It is public service so there's no need to register or sign in. All you need is your web browser.

·         FourWhere was built by a Toronto-based social media company software company called Sysomos.

·         Go ahead, start discovering the world around you     

Foursquare local business examples (relatable to Resident Links)

1. GranataPet, a small pet food company from Germany, thought of a very creative way to use Foursquare. They installed 10 black boxes at billboards in two German cities that dispensed dog food every time an owner checked in using Foursquare. The campaign accounted for a 28% increase in GranataPet dog food sales during and immediately after campaign ended! This was all the more amazing given their slim budget for marketing. I think this provides some more ideas to the small business owner of how mobile marketing can fill your business needs.
2. One of our (my town marked down) Postabon members, Yaelleah, told me about how you can get a free $75 bottle of cologne when you check-in on Foursquare, I may have screamed, “Pump the brakes.”  She explained the deal was at the Coach Men’s Store on Bleecker, and I decided I had to see it to believe it.  Before heading over to the Coach Men’s Store, I decided to look it up on Foursquare to see if this deal was still going on.  In the top right hand corner on Foursquare, it said there was a special here, and once I clicked on this message, it said to show it to a sales associate to receive an exclusive gift. We headed over to the store, checked in and asked the sales associates for our gift.  We were handed a short questionnaire to fill out, where we provided our names, email addresses and mailing addresses and then we received a 3.4 Fl Oz bottle of Coach for Men fragrance.  We asked how long the promo is going on, and they said it depends when Coach takes it off Foursquare.  Our advice - check your phone before you head over to see if the special offer box is in the top right hand corner.

·         How I put it all together:  To compile most of my information I simply entered Foursquare into the StumpleUpon interest box and was met with many new posts about Foursquare’s potential and capabilities.  However, after finding out about FourWhere, I decided this is more relatable to Resident Links.  Promotional value is priceless in marketing and social networking is essential, so why not combine the two and create a localized version for Resident Links?

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Bob "the beat builder" Satre and Clubmau5

In my travels, I have met some pretty interesting people.  When I went to Starscape in June, i ran into bobby.  He is a local DJ from Gainsville, Virginia and is focused on the Dubstep and electronica sound.  He recently became part of a group know as "Clubmau5" a homage to the DJ Deadmau5.  I sat down with him and had an interview about his thoughts on the whole local Dub scene.  Here is a link to his page so you can listen to Bob and his crew.

http://www.clubhou5.com/

1.What is your personal definition of a dj?  What do you think makes you a dj?:  My personal definition of a DJ is someone who can conduct and keep a continuous flow of music going while maintaining the entertainment for the crowd.  I don't think anything can make a DJ; I just think the DJ is the one who makes himself.  You can either mix records or you can’t.  If you're not pushing yourself or learning something new every time you DJ then something's wrong.  I use separate music technology if it suits my set. I currently use the Native Instruments Machine to produce beats, but I have yet to incorporate them in any of my mixes.  I really enjoy sampling and the possibilities that come with it. I wish I had more time to practice this art.

2.How often do you play events? (Local shows, festivals, etc.)  How often do you practice/produce/edit? I try to play any event/show/rave that I possibly can.  I've only been performing live for a year now so I take any opportunity that's thrown at me.  A few of the events I've done lately include birthday parties, graduation parties, I spun a wedding down in the Outer Banks, NC back in October, but mainly I enjoy doing house parties and anything outdoor, especially raves.  I am still trying to break into the scene.  Mostly weekends are my time to play though.  I lately have been working on producing during the week and managing music while the weekends are my time to practice and play freely.  I really like going into a live set not knowing what songs I'm going to mix for the night.  These have been my best nights performing.

3.What programs do you use?  What kind of sound system do you prefer? Do you use any separate music technology? (synth, drum pad) The programs I use the most are Native Instruments Traktor and Native Instruments Machine. I started out using Virtual DJ and graduated to the Traktor software.  I also have Audacity and Garage Band although I haven't dabbled with those too much.  I've had my eye on getting into the Ableton Live software as well as the Massive software which I also believe is produced by Native Instruments.  These two types of software packages are notorious for producing the dubstep sound.  I know Skrillex and many other prominent electronic artists use the Massive software. 

The sound systems I use right now are 2 15" Loudspeakers by Yamaha with a 9" horn above them.  I also have an 18" 700-1000Watt subwoofer for the base.  My preference for a sound system is for it to be loud!

4.How much has social media helped you promote yourself? (Soundcloud, Youtube, etc.) Social media has promoted myself just as much as going out and playing for a crowd.  It's easier to send mixes and post events where you'll be playing using such networks as Facebook or Twitter.  Soundcloud I don't use as much as I should, but I do have an account and post mixes very seldom.  The think I love the most about the DJing art form is playing live for people.  I feed off of this the most.

5.How well do you know the other dj's in Clubhou5 and did you meet them and form your group? I know the other DJ's in Clubhou5 pretty well.  Naturally we all met through hitting up raves and going to shows.  We all enjoy the same things and all play music so it was only natural to come together.  Clubhou5 has been around since before I got into the scene, and I was only recently inducted into the group.  So it's safe to say that I did not form the group; I merely joined it.  Clubhou5 is a way for us to promote ourselves as a variety of music and not just one style.  Clubhou5 is more than just music; it's a way of life.

A local festival idea!

When I was writing my feature story for Resident Links I thought of how a local festival might be organized and came up with this concise plan with all the trimmings.  If this looks good or you have a way to improve it or even want to put one together, please leave a comment.

·Local festival for NOVA and DC, “Dubbers and Clubbers”

Vendors-local restaurants, food trucks (D.C.), all volunteer, limited menus with range of options (vendors), locals get one free meal and drink ticket upon entry.

Sponsors-bands PR reps, merchandise, local music shops, local radio and news stations.

Venue (location) free for locals, visitor’s fee goes directly to a community project, spacious, outdoor tents, one or two stages, close in proximity and no overlapping sets.

Attendees/Volunteers/Staff (specialists-lights, sound, setup)

Equipment (systems, optimum output for sound) Genre: Dubstep/Techno/Trance/Electronica.

Bands-local individuals or bands into the same sound and scene, tryouts/recruitment can stretch from D.C. & NOVA to Richmond & Norfolk.

Resident Links merge with SoundCloud, to blog new song drops, interviews with dj’s and curator/founders, open forum to ask attendees about their overall experience and share comments & concerns.  Also utilize Twitter, FourSquare and GroupMe.