Posts tagged “check-in

Location-Based Mobile Services Becoming Increasingly Popular: Over 25% of Americans Have Used Location-Based Services for Recommendations

Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development

Using location-based services to find the closest restaurant or to get directions is becoming the newest trend in mobile technology. Here is an article from The Washington Post on how Americans are using location-based services.

Over a quarter of American adults use mobile location-based services

checking in 354x252 Location Based Mobile Services Becoming Increasingly Popular: Over 25% of Americans Have Used Location Based Services for RecommendationsNot many people are “checking in” using services such as Foursquare and Gowalla, but over a quarter of Americans are checking out their surroundings using location-based services.

The latest research from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project found that 28 percent of American adults have used mobile or social location-based services to get recommendations such as the best-rated nearby cafe or directions from their current location.

Only about 5 percent of those surveyed used services that post their current locations, though smartphone users were more than twice as likely to signal their location to their friends. In a similar vein, about 9 percent of all users used the location-tagging options on social media.

As once might expect, younger smartphone users are more likely overall to use check-in services, but there was no clear divide on age when it came to hitching a location-tag to a Facebook or Twitter message.

READ MORE


Groupon Launches Holiday Store

Posted By: Carlee Vellinga

grouponicus 150x150 Groupon Launches Holiday Store

Groupon is a prime example of the growing popularity of coupon and check-in businesses. Groupon launched a holiday store today. The store, Grouponicus, will offer new deals daily with a focus on holiday gift options. This article by Kit Eaton at fastcompany.com reveals the growing focus on social media shopping.

Check-in/Coupon Business Exploding: Groupon Gets Into Digital Music Downloads

Groupon is soaring like a rocket at the moment: Today it opens the Grouponicus Store, with Rihanna’s new album as the star offering and social media links a-plenty built in. It’s the latest sign that the check-in/coupon digital marketing phenomenon is exploding.

As well as the “variety of unbeatable features that have made Groupon a global phenomenon” the press release states, “LOUD will be available as a $5 digital download in the inaugural holiday store of Groupon, the Grouponicus Store, beginning November 22, 2010.” That’s a pretty big coup for Groupon, given the big-star status of Rihanna, and the fact that LOUD is running at $9.99 in Apple’s iTunes store–the biggest music retailer in the U.S.

The company is calling it a “first of its kind” deal, and while it’s definitely a success, it’s probably almost as much thanks to the clever marketing that Rihanna’s team are using for the new record, which includes “aggressive” social media activity across the usual suspects of Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

Read More