Facebook creepers eat your heart out. The ever-popular social network has now added a new feature that allows a Facebook user to not only let their friends know what they are doing and when, but also, WHERE.
It’s called Places. So what exactly is it? Well, according to Facebook.com,
“Places is a Facebook feature that allows you to see where your friends are and share your location in the real world. When you use Places, you’ll be able to see if any of your friends are currently checked in nearby and connect with them easily. You can check into nearby Places to tell your friends where you are, tag your friends in the Places you visit, and view comments your friends have made about the Places you visit. Use Places to experience connecting with people on Facebook in a completely new way.”
How does it work? From what I have read, Places seems to turn our world into one big hotel. Once someone “checks in”…
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that update will appear on the Place page, their friends’ News Feed and their Wall.
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one will be able to tag the friends they are with, including them in the update.
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one can tap “Here Now” to see who else is checked in where they are.
The affects this geo-location service could have on the advertising industry is most intriguing. Once an advertising system is set up, it seems conceivable for Facebookers to receive custom coupons and special offers based entirely on their exact location. Exciting as that is for someone like myself, I think Robson Grieve, President of Creature, made an excellent point in his statements for mediabistro.com.
“While there isn’t any ad or marketing platform yet, the potential in this is obvious. The critical thing marketers face is making sure that your brand acts appropriately within this context. Despite the temptation, companies can’t just start bombarding people with location based offers–or all the offers will just become noise. The ad industry will need to hold back a little bit on launching the sales pitch, and work on finding a way to develop a natural dialog with people around the places that they go so marketing can be a benefit, and not an intrusion.”
Another way this feature could help business if from simple exposure. Many businesses have already taken advantage of what Facebook has to offer by creating their own Page. This has proved to be an excellent way to stay in communication with consumers and create a more interactive environment. Now with the addition of Place, businesses can gain excellent visibility by encouraging customers to share that they are at their store, restaurant or what-have-you, “enjoying themselves” or even spotting a “really good deal!”
One big concern and one of the first thoughts to cross my mind was the potential security and privacy risks involved in sharing one’s every move with the rest of the world. I’m careful enough as it is not to be giving out too much information on my Info or in my Status Updates. Sharing exactly where I am at any given moment is almost like an open invitation to break into my house since you know I’m not home. But on the flip side of this mode of thinking is the fact that there are privacy settings that can be adjusted to help protect yourself and only give out the info you want.
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) recommends customizing these privacy settings:
- Disable “Friends can check me in to Places”
- Customize “Places I Check In,”
- Disable “People Here Now”
- Uncheck “Places I’ve Visited.” The organization is pointing out that, once again, users must make their way through a range of settings before accomplishing the goal of protecting their information in the ways they wish.
Like any new feature, the future is unclear. The only sure fate is that Places will undergo numerous cosmetic and functionality changes. We can only hope that the use of Places remains positive and productive for both regular Facebook users and for businesses.
Awareness Social Networks by .
And it starts. I recently came across an article supporting my statements made in my posts, Sketchy Skechers: The shake-down on the Shape-Ups Part 1 & Part 2.
The article hits on a variety of topics surrounding Shape-Ups as well as other “toning” shoes on the market. The following is an excerpt from, “A revolutionary sneaker, or overhyped gimmick?”
Bryan Markinson, chief of podiatric medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, says some of his patients who are “not in the greatest of shape” have inflamed their Achilles tendons while wearing toning shoes. People thinking of buying them, he says, should begin an “active stretching program” or else risk injury.
Jonathan Deland, chief of foot and ankle service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, warns the shoes can be “dangerous” for people with balance problems.
On the other hand, Deland acknowledges that he has worn Shape-ups and likes the way they make wearers use their muscles more to maintain balance.
“I don’t want people to think these toning shoes are like going to the gym and feeling like you did a really great workout,” Deland says.
To read more of the article, click here.
sketcher shape-ups
At the end of my video I concluded by stating there would be an interview still to come with Dr. Carpenter, a well established chiropractor in Louisville. Unfortunately she was unable to appear on 
camera for a full interview. However, she did provide me with her opinion on the Skechers Shape-Ups after having seen research herself.
“The Shoe – The shoes have their roots in the technology of the MBT shoes, the original rockers,
first developed by a Swiss Engineer. A little about the actual shoe
from the MBT website:
MBT is totally different because:
- Its sole is curved, not flat.
- It is unstable, not stable.
- It activates your muscles instead of undermining them.
- It has a positive effect on the entire body, not just the feet.”
“The company also states their claims are backed up by research. I did find the research. However, it all seems to be funded, or at least
sponsored, by one of the company’s own departments called the Academy.
Now, unless research is funded and conducted by an unbiased third party I
am always wary.”
“The mind is a powerful thing. However, for most people, I believe the best way to increase strength and stamina, reduce
aches and pains and lose weight is to engage in a smart nutrition and
exercise program that includes cardio and strength training, balance, flexibility and core work. There is no quick fix, ever. And if
something seems to good to be true, it probably is.”
End the cycle,
its justin idea
*Promote weight loss
*Strengthen the back, Firm calf and buttock muscles, Reduce cellulite and tone your thighs
*Increase cardiovascular health
*Improve posture
*Reduce stress on knee and ankle joints
Now, where does Skechers provide evidence to support these claims? Nowhere!
All they really have is a really large marketing budget which includes endorsements by so-called “fitness experts.” Please think very carefully before submitting to the tempting thoughts that a shoe
can replace a workout. This is like putting tiny springs in basketball shoes and claiming it will make a better basketball player. The fact is there is no easy out when is comes to fitness. It’s about making healthy food choices and putting forth the effort when it comes to exercise.
So I had this video on Youtube that I posted and couldn’t wait to see the number of views shoot up to the thousands like all the other videos on Youtube. But after two weeks I only had ten views! So I tried a little experiment where I posted the link to my video on my Twitter, Myspace & Facebook with the heading, “Check It Out!” just to see if I could get any response. It’s been two weeks since I tried that and the number of views has recently broken 100 and is still climbing.
I’m pretty pleased with the results. But I would still like to know how so many videos, not even interesting or popular one, manage to get thousands of view. What’s the secret? Do these people simply have more friends than I do? While that’s likely, there must be a better reason.
Perhaps the solution is more viral than I’m making it.
It’s Justin Idea.
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