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I wonder if there is a Foursquare Anonymous. I’m seriously addicted.  Don’t laugh. Once you try it, you will be too. It’s what I thought Twitter was supposed to be - letting people know where you are and what you’re doing, but there’s so much more value-add than that with Foursquare. It’s not just the “I’m here” but also the “and now what” that makes it soooo powerful and cool. This weekend I was in Stowe, Vermont with my son and his friend. Needed a place to go to dinner, so I checked into Foursquare and found that the Whip Grill was just two blocks away. I was also able to get a great tip on what to order - guacamole made fresh at our table! What’s also neat is how businesses are making the most of Foursquare. When I showed the server at the Whip Grill that I found his restaurant using Foursquare, he handed me a free drink. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m also addicted to the competitive aspect of Foursquare. I’m still a Newbie, but well on my way to unlocking the Adventurer badge. Not to brag, but I”m number one on the leaderboard today.

Foursquare is so practical and easy to use too. Even if you don’t have an iphone or blackberry, you can still use the service by sending SMS messages to 50500. Another neat feature is that you can gain points without letting your friends know where you are (in case it’s a scandalous venue). They know you’ve checked in but you’re “off the grid.” And “shout outs” are fun - you do stuff at a venue and then shout out that you’ve done them.

Love to blog more, but I’ve got things to do and new places to see… thanks to Foursquare.

Are you addicted too?

Filed under: Digital PR, Internet, Social Media, Uncategorized by CindyGordon - 8 Comments →

The life-size cardboard cut-out of Edward stopped me in my tracks as I walked the aisles at Toy Fair in New York this week.  ‘Twilight’ was one of the newer licenses dotting booths at the annual toy industry show.  Mattel has cast the Twilight stars - Edward and Bella - as Barbie dolls.  Mattel also unveiled the newest Barbie career dolls: News Anchor Barbie and Computer Engineer Barbie, as voted by fans and getting good buzz at the show.

Anniversaries were another dominant theme at Toy Fair: Etch a Sketch and Slinky celebrate their 50th and 65th (wow, I’m old!); Hello Kitty is 35; and Hasbro introduced a round Monopoly game board in honor of Monopoly’s 75th.   The makers of Rubik’s Cube (a 360 client), which turns 30 in 2010, have rolled out a campaign to empower America’s youth to solve the cube - check out the Rubik’s Facebook page we just set up for the You Can Do the Cube campaign.  You CAN do it!

Our friends at the Toy Book were offering to tweet show news for exhibitors.  Simply stop by Toy Book’s booth at the Javits with your 140 characters and the editors will tweet it out.  Social media made even easier.  You can read all the tweets from the show at #toyfair.

Looking at the appointment schedules our teams booked up for clients, it was striking just how many more bloggers made it to the show this year.  That added some welcomed immediacy and a real-parent perspective to the Toy Fair news stream.  (Love to read your post if you want to leave a link here.)

And here’s one of my favorite Toy Fair images - one that caught the attention of FOX Busiiness - the New York City skyline sculpted out of Bendaroos (a 360 client):

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, PR Industry, Retail by LauraTomasetti - 4 Comments →

Were you confused when you signed in to check your email yesterday and saw a new, multi-colored, pinwheel-like icon in your inbox?  Join the club!

Built into your Gmail page, Google is describing their just-launched Buzz feature as “a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting.”  But is it Google’s late-to-the-game attempt to claim a piece of the social networking pie?  At first look, we think so. 

Suddenly I have status-like updates clogging my Gmail page.  In my opinion, it’s difficult enough to manage my Facebook and Twitter accounts without having to also alert my Google contacts of my every move/thought/action - I guess my Gmail was a sort of mini-sanctuary up until now. 

So what do you think?  Is Google Buzz a ‘must-do’ or an ‘I could definitely do without?’

Filed under: Social Media by SkyeMcIntyre - 3 Comments →

Today is said to mark the day that Facebook turns 6, and what a six years it has been.  I came across this great post about the social networking giant on Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech blog, in which writer Jessi Hempel examines six ways that Facebook has “shaped our culture.”  My personal favorite from the list is the way that Facebook has made the word “friend” into a verb.  So from all of your “friends” at 360PR:  Happy Birthday, Facebook!

Oh, and since you’re now thinking about Facebook, here’s the link so you can log on straight from here.  You know you were going to anyway…

Filed under: Social Media by JohnLeRoy - 4 Comments →