I love Foursquare, but I don't use it

I am a huge believer in Foursquare. I think it is one of the most significant developments in the evolution of the internet. But I’m not a user – not really, anyway. Though I have used Foursquare quite a bit (and have somewhat stopped using it for the moment), there is a reason I still follow it. I know that while it’s not for me today, it will be a huge part of my future.

The evolution of Foursquare reminds me a lot of the evolution of Twitter, but slower. When Twitter first came out, a handful of people I knew were trying it, and I tried it, too. Immediately, there was no great payoff. I knew there was some buzz around it, but just figuring out what it did was initially a little confusing. Even once I had the hang of it, I only half paid attention to it as there was not a critical mass of people or organizations on it yet. But I kept on it, and I had a fairly strong sense that something would happen, that it would evolve. And then it did.

The big moment when Twitter became relevant to me was when they added the search feature. It was that moment when Twitter moved from potential to reality. In one swoop that feature changed Twitter from silo’d streams of conversation into one, global, searchable, real-time conversation.

I remember very specifically playing with it for hours to see what I could do. I researched what people were saying about brands I was working with, and I even monitored what people were saying about TV shows I was watching, in real-time.

This is the moment that I’m waiting for with Foursquare, and I’m certain it will come.

I understand that I am not the audience for the product Foursquare is today. The novelty of earning a badge wore off a long time ago, and I’m not going to see that my friends are at a bar near me (I don’t go out – I’m old, lame).

What I know is coming is the day when I check into a place and I am not only rewarded with something tangible, but my physical world becomes tailored to me simply because I chose to check in. The possibilities there are endless, and I can’t wait for them to become more real. And I love Foursquare because they were the first to see this, and the first to begin the journey of making it real.

The digital space has always been defined by curiosity, and finding connections that don’t currently exist. Twitter and Foursquare are two of the best examples of people who were intrigued by a possibility, and ventured to make it into a reality.

Perhaps one of the reasons I’m so interested in Foursquare is because it has yet to turn that corner, and I’m not sure what the other side looks like. But the other side is so big and full of possibilities that I can’t wait to get my first peek.

An unsung hero of Innovation – the PDF

Innovation is a word we hear a lot these days. A word we all hear too much and most often undeserved in its use. When you hear the word Innovation, there are some usual suspects that come to mind – iPhone, iPad, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, even the Internet itself. But I’ll bet there’s one innovation that you use everyday that you never think twice about – the PDF.

I was recently working in an office where the culture was really old school. Every document that was made, every version that was revised, was printed for review. I was astounded by the sheer volume of paper that was being printed, just to be thrown away. It was so tremendously wasteful that for the first time in a long time I had to stop and consider how much office environments have changed, and the things that made the change possible.

While I certainly can’t speak for how most office environments work, I can speak to what I’m used to. Throughout my career, I have been in increasingly paperless environments where documents are emailed, posted online for review and shown on projectors or screens for group reviews. It was something that evolved over time, something I never took notice until I was in an office environment where time had apparently stood still.

As I thought about the things that I was used to doing in a more paperless office, it made me think about the PDF and how much it has changed the way I work, and I would wager the way a lot of people work…and live.

What you see is what you get

As a designer, one of the biggest problems I used to face was presenting documents. There was no way to send a Quark file to a client to review, or an Illustrator file, or Photoshop file. Things had to be printed and mounted, resulting in a huge waste of materials, time and energy.

The fact that now I can literally just save any file that I am working on in an instant, from any program, that will look exactly how I intend it to look, had become lost on me. I can’t seem to recall the first time I did it, but I can barely remember life before it. This evolution is so fundamental and significant that in and of itself it makes the PDF a hero. But wait, there’s more…

Remember all those instruction manuals?

When you used to buy a computer, or software, and the volume of instruction manuals that came with it? I used to have shelves of these books that were out of date within months (or even weeks) of receiving them.

Now when you buy nearly any piece of hardware, electronics or software, the manual is provided online. If you lose it, just download another one. It will always be the latest version.

Now this is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the volume of documents, brochures, instructions, forms and more that we now routinely use PDFs for. Just think how many times a day you use a PDF – A health insurance form, an application, work documents, news articles, marketing brochures, etc. – and you’ll start to appreciate your friend the PDF.

A better brochure

Beyond just making these documents electronic, the PDF is also incredibly interactive and collaborative. Advanced PDFs can be as interactive as web sites with links, rollovers and embedded media. PDFs also contain the ability for commenting and markup that is incredibly sophisticated.

It’s good and good for you

If I were a more diligent man I would find some statistics or do some research to demonstrate the impact of the PDF of the environment. But I’m not. Luckily, I think a little common sense can illustrate what I’m trying to say.

So as my mind was considering how much paper is saved by the PDF, I also started to consider the other implications. If we’re printing less brochures, forms and documents, that means we’re using less electricity, less harmful inks and chemicals in industrial presses and even in office printers. While my mind can envision how this exponentially adds up, I would love to know any kind of statistics on the real impact to the environment. So, if you’re reading this and you’re a smarty, send along some facts.

Where’s the love?

The PDF is a workhorse of innovation, so why is it something that seems to be so taken for granted? I feel like the more I think about it the more I could write about great things it does and ways it has created fundamental shifts in the way we work and live.

Is it not shiny like an iPhone? It doesn’t have cute animal illustrations like Twitter? Maybe because it just always seems to work and be there when we need it?

You may be thinking, “but the internet is also what makes most of this possible too”. And yes, you are right. But I think the internet certainly gets the praise it deserves. But someone has to love the PDF.

Whatever the reason, I’m clearly guilty of ignoring it too. It was only when I was in an environment where we weren’t using it did I miss it and gain a real appreciation for it. So this article is both my atonement and shout out to the PDF. Let’s give it some of the recognition it deserves, the PDF is a BFD.

The corn syrup “re-brand” - putting social media to the test

Yesterday emerged the new “re-branding” of corn syrup into ‘corn sugar’. My initial reaction was a slight chuckle at the audacity of the move. But the more I thought about it the more it annoyed me.

First, and most obvious, it’s just a huge lie. It’s classic old-school spin that contains the arrogance that like sheep we will all believe whatever pretty package is sold to us. This we see everyday and it somewhat rolled off my shoulders.

Second, and more importantly, it bothered me that this is being called a “re-brand”. Now this part annoys me because it validates the idea that branding is simply making up a story and imposing it on something regardless of the truth. The idea that I work in an industry where truth and ethics are relative (or irrelevant) and that the idea we want the customer to believe is the only thing that matters.

My instincts tell me that this won’t stand. This shouldn’t stand. This can’t stand. In this new world of transparency, immediacy, information and consumer empowerment this message will not survive. The facts will emerge, the people will make their voices heard and the campaign will fall flat. The world has changed, the worm has turned, power to the people, you can’t pull the wool over our eyes - right?

 I quickly came to the realization that this may be a watershed moment that demonstrates that the new world order exists or it doesn’t. After all, if an industry makes such a claim as the corn syrup manufacturers are making, and it works, then I think we can all guess what other companies will feel empowered to do.

What is at stake is the fundamental concept that the information age has changed anything. In just one day I saw all the requisite ire and indignation in the social stratosphere – Facebook, Twitter, blogs, comments, etc. But what I started to wonder is whether the social world just becoming noise or is it a true voice that has an impact?

Will the outrage matter? It had better.

UPDATE:
Well, the demise of the new Gap logo may have put this entire issue to rest? Amen.

Guerilla marketing for Mafia Wars

Spotted these this morning on the way to work. Cool adhesives (that look very un-permanant) of bulletholes on the window of every car parked on the block create the appearance of a drive-by. The pics don't quite capture the effect, but it's very well done.

Close up view.

Starbucks is "Stretching the truth" of VIA's success.

I just read this morning on AdWeek a story of the success of Starbuck's VIA.

This is a complete fabrication. I have been waiting for Starbacks to make this claim ever since VIA came out.

For months after VIA's arrival, Starbucks would use a practice where they would give you your coffee for free if you also bought a "discounted" VIA package. In essence giving you the VIA for free while you still paid the same amount for your coffee (or possibly less, I can't remember). However, you were technically purchasing VIA at a discounted rate (the price of your coffee) and getting the drink you ordered for free, registering sales for VIA.

Over a few months, Im sure i registered close to 20 "sales" of VIA without ever ordering it.

Im all for giving free samples and getting new product out there, but for Starbucks to claim that this give-away is a sale is beyond misleading, it's a lie.

Someone (hint, hint, AdWeek) needs to perform some slight diligence on this claim and it will quickly unravel.