Tatango, a Seattle-based SMS marketing company, has put together a nifty timeline that looks at key moments in the history of text messaging. Of particular note: texting’s role in American Idol season 2 in 2003 and lewd texts that Brett Favre admitted sending to reporter Jenn Sterger.
Source: Tatango SMS Marketing
Research firm eMarketer gives us a peek at its new report on Twitter usage, which offers some juicy predictions for marketers.
Among findings shared in the report summary:
The whole report will cost you $695, but the summary itself includes some not-insignificant numbers. It’s definitely worth checking out.
I hate that I missed this yesterday! Better late than never, I suppose.
Mashable reports that Ad Age and People Browsr joined forces to determine the the 10 most-buzzed-about brands at SXSW.
The top 10 with no surprises:
I actually got to leave the house last night after spending two days spring cleaning, and as I checked in I was pleasantly surprised to see foursquare 3.0’s revamped specials listing includes an expanded radius! The specials weren’t limited to a one or two blocks — specials as far away as 4 miles were listed. Even better: There were more listings! At one check-in, I had 19 specials pop up.
It seems more area businesses are taking advantage of the foursquare Merchant Platform — and they’re getting more creative with the offers. A nearby auto repair shop was offering a Check-In Special for foursquare check-ins that are linked to Facebook. (Way to expand your reach, folks.) RadioShack is offering a Newbie Special (20% off for first-time check-ins), as well as a Check-in Special that promotes a Mayor’s Special. (The improved analytics will tell them if this two-pronged approach works.)
Among the new deals spotted on foursquare in the Fairfax, Va., area:
ABOUT THIS SERIES: As a marketing student interested in social media’s role in promotion, I record specials that I see when I check in on foursquare. For me, it’s fun to see how businesses are using it to court customers, which merchants are catching on — and which ones aren’t. This project is mostly to satisfy my intellectual curiosity, so stoppers-by might be bored. Googlers, if you’re looking for information about MAC’s Wonder Woman cosmetic line and foursquare offer, here’s the post.
As foursquare continues to expand and upgrade, the location-based social network is stepping up efforts to court businesses and their customers with an overhaul of the foursquare Merchant Platform. 
According to the company’s blog, businesses will find that foursquare 3.0 offers improved analytics, and a variety of new “Specials” — Friends, Flash, Swarm, Newbie — that are aimed at attracting new customers.
The Friends and Swarm specials find strength in numbers, mining the “more the merrier” sentiment: Customers can check in with friends or a large group and get a deal. Playing to the “me first” instinct are the Flash Specials, offers for the first players checking in after a certain time. The seemingly standard Newbie Specials are for first-time check-ins, and then there’s the plain-vanilla Check-In Special that may not be limited to first-time check-ins. For businesses looking to reward existing customers, merchants can still offer Mayor Specials, as well as Loyalty Specials (e.g. “Free coffee after 10th visit!”).
The post announcing the new specials has some very cool examples of what businesses are doing, as well as a sneak peek of the new dashboard. At the time of this writing, the post had 13 comments, including one that succinctly declares the platform upgrades as “cool.” Foursquare’s leaders at can rest easy now.
ABOUT THIS SERIES: As a marketing student interested in social media’s role in promotion, I record specials that I see when I check in on foursquare. For me, it’s fun to see how businesses are using it to court customers, which merchants are catching on — and which ones aren’t. This project is mostly to satisfy my intellectual curiosity, so stoppers-by might be bored. Googlers, if you’re looking for information about MAC’s Wonder Woman cosmetic line and foursquare offer, here’s the post.
A foursquare post claims 7.5 million users now, and as Business Insider points out, that’s more than double their number of users when Facebook’s Places launched in August.
What location-based platform are you using?
This cool foursquare graphic looks at 2010’s opening-weekend movie check-ins, breaking down the data by title, gender preferences and overlap, and regional interest. Of note: Mississippians dug Gulliver’s Travels and Toy Story 3, while Utahns preferred Edge of Darkness and Tooth Fairy.
Among my opening-weekend check-ins: The Town and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. I slept like a baby during both. Not among my opening-weekend check-ins: Sex and the City: 2. I write this proudly.
In other foursquare news, the location-based social network is now distinguishing between friends and followers. This will allow marketers to determine the users with a large reach. The HubSpot blog has details in their Feb. 28 post that I missed because I was researching strategies for Angry Birds or doing something equally important.
I also missed foursquare’s “Rudest Cities in the World” list posted Feb. 28 on the network’s engineering blog. While it is interesting to know that Manchester, England, has the most … colorful … check-ins in the world, the post more importantly details how the company will mine (explore) the data it collects to make decisions about venues, promotion and demographics. The post is heavy on the tech, but offers some insight into foursquare’s ambitions.
For those more interested in the rude cities themselves, AOL Travel has a roundup.
