End of the Line for Checkin Cheaters

If there was one social media tool that could really benefit from the "iPad fever" that's been sweeping the country over the past few weeks, it's Foursquare. An easily portable, internet-accessible tablet is perfect for a location-based app like this.

Not that Foursquare needs the help, with over 1.2 million site visitors and no sign that the momentum is slowing down.

Case in point: back in mid-March, I wrote about the big brand partnerships Foursquare made with companies like Starbucks and Bravo Network for different giveaways and contests.

And with more and more companies looking towards location-based apps for promotional work (and Foursquare being arguably the biggest of these apps right now), Foursquare recently took steps to fix the biggest problem the service has; cracking down on users who checkin to places they're not actually at.

The site is now using the GPS built into mobile phones to verify that cheating checkins are kept to a minimum. The reason this is so important is that because Foursquare is shoring up its biggest issue, current users who were frustrated with checkin cheating will remain loyal, while people who haven't tried Foursquare will be more likely to give it a shot.

More importantly, companies may be more willing to look into Foursquare as a viable promotional tool because these changes further legitimize it as the top of the location-based food chain.

Primetime Product Placement

Last week I wrote a post about how advertisers had to overcome TiVo and short attention spans through creative means. Well for years, the main weapon advertisers have used in their war against digital recording devices was product placement.

Usually, this tactic is limited to a well-placed (and name brand) beverage for our favorite TV characters to drink, or a casual off-the-cuff reference to certain restaurant or fast-food chain.

However, last week I watching the show Modern Family and the product placement went from deceptively subtle to overwhelmingly obvious.

That's because last week's episode was entirely devoted to the iPad...as if we hadn't already heard enough about the iPad, right?

The plot of the episode was basically that Phil, one of the main characters, gets an iPad for his birthday. After blowing out the digital candles on his birthday cake app, he and his family continued to gush over how great the iPad is.

And seeing as how it was indeed a real iPad and not a mock-up or a fake, I doubt it was a coincidence or the producers simply looking to capitalize on a trending topic.

Now I understand it's timely, what with the recent iPad launch and all (not to mention the flurry of media coverage that followed), but I'm not sure how I feel about being whacked over the head with the product placement.

Food for Thought: Top 2009 Launches

Since I'm still recovering from a huge Easter dinner and picking through the jellybeans and chocolate bunnies that I've been stockpiling for weeks now, I thought it'd be a good time to talk about food.

Specifically, IRI (Information Resources, Inc.) released their Top Launches of 2009 report last week. The report breaks down which new products netted the most sales, with breakdowns in different categories.

The top 5 food launches included products like Bud Light Lime, Arnold Select Sandwich Thins, Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers and Dreyer’s/Edy’s Fun Flavors Ice Cream.

But the king of the food mountain was Campbell's Select Harvest Soup, which aimed to take advantage of the increase in health awareness with natural ingredients and getting rid of the MSG.

With 7 out of the top 10 food launches based around healthier products, the trend seems to point towards a continued rise in lower calorie foods and natural products.

iPad Success or Computer Industry Failure?

I'm old enough to remember when Apple products were on the fringe of the industry; no one cared except a devoted few. The iMac, iPod and iPhone changed all that over the last 15 years.

Where are the rest of the computer industry's innovators? Why does everyone wait for the next big thing from Apple? Because there's no one else. Microsoft and HP and the others can't seem to do anything but copy each other.

The sad thing is that this pattern has repeated itself in the domestic car companies as well. We see a few glimmerings of hope with new models from GM and Ford, but my hopes for Chrysler are fading fast.

We know Japan and Korea are superb at copying existing technology, especially hardware, and making it better. But there's no originality there.

The good news is that the United States is still the world's supplier of most of the entertainment content. And without the content, devices like the iPad are just empty shells. Let's hope that other U.S. technology companies will join Apple in innovation and show the rest of the world we still have what it takes to be leaders.

Off-Field Issues

As a die-hard Minnesota Vikings fan myself, I think it's great that fans can get that more casual and personal perspective on their favorite athletes through social networks like Twitter, but the unregulated nature of these networks has raised some issues.

In response, the NFL has passed regulations on many of these issues, from how soon players can tweet before or after a game to leaking inside information about their organizations.

But despite those regulations, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes has still been in hot water over his recent Twitter activity.

But to his credit, he isn't guilty of violating the league's policy on leaking info or pre-game tweeting...instead, he told a fan to commit suicide.

Specifically, he said the fan "shud try finding the worst thing that you could drink n kill urself."

Now I'm no expert on the legal gray areas that exist between social media use and sports, but I'm fairly certain that a professional athlete (with nearly 11,000 followers) should not be telling people to go kill themselves.

Holmes took it a step further a couple days later, when he tweeted Wednesday morning that it was "time to wake n bake," which is a common pot reference.

Let me be clear, this isn't a debate about the legality of marijuana or the liability of suicide incitement. But as bad as those issues are, what I'm dumbfounded by is that he said these things when thousands of people were watching and could hold him accountable.

Regardless, this should serve as a wake-up call to all of these Twitter athletes is that just because social networks exist outside of the league doesn't mean they are above scrutiny from both the leagues and the public at large.