The all new Foursquare coming soon?

On May 30, Foursquare’s announced the arrival of an “all new foursquare coming soon“. Revealing 2 previous of this “all new foursquare“, Foursquare started teasing, trying to get its community excited and ready for Foursquare’s new … design? features?

Maps. There are many others like it, but this one is yours. The #allnew4sq is coming soon! bit.ly/L0fbOy

— foursquare (@foursquare) May 31, 2012

A lot of speculations were heard but nothing concrete was reveled by the social app. What is the likely scenario for the next Foursquare? New look? New features? New app? Would the new Foursquare be full of surprises or just a sexiest packaging?

More information is the next couple of days…

TVcheck: The Foursquare for Television

We all know Foursquare (If it’s your first time here or you don’t know a lot about foursquare, just read this blog and check out What you need to know about Foursquare).

Well, The application TVcheck (App Store Link – Free – iPhone) is based on the same principle: when you watch TV, you point your iPhone to the screen and it will automatically detect the program through the photo sensor, with a visual recognition technology (first app to offer this feature). This will allow you to share with your friends what you’re watching on television by checking-in. The goal is to share programs, provide advices, post photos related to your check-in and become the mayor (or master) of a program or a chain, and, like foursquare, earn badges. You can also go on TV shows stages and win many prizes.

Like Foursquare, the application is also connected to other social networks like Facebook, Twitter… in order to share your check-ins and publications.

TVcheck also offers two innovative features: the “pre-check“, which is used to tell your friends that you planned to watch a program, and the “quiz“, centred around a given program, which allows you to earn points and badges.

TVcheck is developed by Orange, a French Telecommunication operator, and is available is France and UK. It will soon be available on other platform than iPhone and other countries.

The first badge of the Olympic Games is now available !

Get ready, the race will be long!
In a few weeks, the Olympic Games 2012 will take place in London.

The foursquare team who loves sport offers us the first badge of the Olympic Games:

How to unlock this badge?

“8,000 miles. 8,000 stories. From Land’s End to Lerwick, Lowestoft to Enniskillen, you’re somewhere on the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay route. Find out when the Flame is coming and line the streets to cheer on your local Torchbearers! This is your moment to shine.”

Well, to unlock it, it’s not that simple.

First, like all the other partners badges, you will have to follow the Olympics’ official Foursquare channel : London2012

Then, you must check-in when the flame reaches the place nearest you.

You can also find out where the Olympic torch is going each day by visiting BBC Torch Relay page

What do you think? What types of badges would you have for the Olympic Games?

That’s a good example of Social Media Marketing. Check out also how you can use Foursquare for your business!

Foursquare, introducing the taxi 3.0 ?

In late 2010, Rixar Garcia, a taxi driver from Oviedo, Spain, came up with the idea to integrate Foursquare & Twitter, along with more “classical” ways of booking a taxi (telephone, Skype & email). The concept is very simple:
- The customer either twits the cab company at Asturias Airport
- Or checks in on Foursquare in front of the OVIEDO TAXI venue
- The company monitors the check-ins and twits and sends a cab within minutes
- The customer receives a 10% discount on any paths as a reward for using Foursquare

Along with this unique idea, Rixar Garcia offers Internet related tools: WiFi access, printer for boarding passes, and twitpay (a secure e-payment with Paypal & Twitter). The project met a great success and thanks to thousands of followers, Garcia expanded his activity by offering routes to tourist within Spain, and even to France thanks to the awareness he raised.

The car brand Volvo wanted to be part of this notoriety and lent Garcia a Volvo S60 taxi and asked him to give reviews and opinions about the car, along with clients’ impressions.

His success story went overseas and in 2011, his project was to drive 10,000 miles through the 17 largest American cities, with a view to collect specific American badges by checking in on Foursquare.

Garcia summarizes his strategy in 3 steps:
- Think big : raise awareness, people have to know who you are
- Be relevant : by actively taking part to the tools creating that future
- Make people like you and provide customized alternatives

His idea was introduced in New York in 2011. And you, did you meet one of these cabs?

Check out this other brilliant idea on how to use Foursquare as a marketing tool.

What is the social media impact on political campaigns? Example of the French presidential election

As we mentioned on the Foursquare and Politics article published on April 25, 2012 , Nicolas Sarkozy used Foursquare as a big tool in his social media campaign. Social Media became a major stake in politics. Unlike the 2007 presidential elections, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram became part of the candidates marketing campaign. However, if the outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy were active on these four major applications, François Hollande, social candidate focused on Facebook and Twitter and decided not to use Foursquare. Finally, François Hollande won the election.

What do you think of both candidates strategies? What was the impact of Foursquare on Nicolas Sarkozy strategy? To what extend do you think that Social Media played a role in the presidential election?