2011: The rise of the entertainment based checkin
If 2010 was the year of location based social media, 2011 will be the year of entertainment based checkins.
Let's face it, TV as we know it, is in for a major facelift. The recession caused a lot of people to reassess their finances, and one of the greatest casualties has been cable TV subscriptions. The rise of online streaming entertainment via Hulu and Netflix created an unparalleled demand for multimedia consumption, at an otherwise perfect time with social media in and of itself becoming something that cannot be ignored. MONNEEYYYYY is behind social media, as the engagement brands can have is priceless; that is powerful. When was the last time we actually sat through commercials anyway? Hello, Tivo!! It's all a numbers game, and they're just no longer adding up.
1/12th of humanity has a Facebook page - its undeniable. Google may have brought us the access to the information, but Facebook made the web a destination point for social interaction. Kudos, Marky Mark and your Facebook bunch!
We're willing to share the most mundane details of our lives and find value in it when our friends comment, and interact with us about it. It enhances the experience for those that actually lived it, and allows our network to be a part of the story telling in an incredibly passive but still meaningful way. We're literally taking all of the elements that make up life, and digitizing it. Talk about the greatest time to be alive for a nerd ... #sigh ...
Foursquare, the coolest kid in the location based social media game, had an incredible year. They've recently just passed 5 million users with a growth rate of 25,000 new accounts everyday. Dude, they're killing it. The World Economic Forum announced the company as a Technology Pioneer for 2011; they've had an incredible year, and recently claimed office space in San Fran.*golfclap*
I love love love me some Foursquare. I love going someplace new, checking in, and reading tweets from you all about what I should check out while I am there. Hence why I also enjoy the tips section as well. Think of all the times someone tells you that you should check something out, and it just goes in one ear and out the other. Foursquare allows that information to be stored and utilized only when you need it. Amazeballs!
Let's face facts here though, how many of us actually get out and about? We're creatures of habit, and being reminded of your 12,000,000 checkin at the same coffee shop everyday I'm sure can get a bit old. Rather than change our habits, we'd just end up losing value in the service in general, and subsequently just stop using it all together.
Foursquare has relationships with MTV, Vh1, Logo, and the History Channel just to name a few, why not offer entertainment based checkins as well? For reals!
Entertainment based checkins are relatively new on the social media scene, but have SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much value!! The current heavyweights are Miso, Get Glue, and Clicker. Miso is cool, I met with their CEO earlier this year ... not mad at it, but not excited about it either. They offer badges for certain checkins, which are cool and all, but I don't necessarily want to be reminded of how many times I've watched Weeds. I don't have the same sense of pride in their badges as I do my FourSquare badges since TV is the leading cause of couch potato syndrome. FourSquare badges are like stamps in your passport. We wear them proudly.
Get Glue offers stickers. I'm not mad at it ... but I'm still just kinda meh. Clicker prides itself on being the TV guide for web watching. Awesome concept, but dudes were totally behind their branding. It has no personality. Foursquare is fun, and flirty ... the verbiage is cheeky, and the badges are just a riot. That works! We want to have FUNNNNNNN using this stuff, because it is FUN!!!
Right now, there is no loyalty to a single entertainment based checkin service. Facebook and Netflix are apparently in talks which could be a HUGE game changer ... but dude, Foursquare - you're missing out on a HUGGEE market!! If FourSquare came into the entertainment based checkin game, they'd kill it! You have this entire CHUNK of nerds that don't leave their house for one reason or another, so they won't use the service! By creating an avenue for those people to be able to share what they are doing at home, like watching the latest episode of Chuck, you're adding value to their life by them being able to share it. I feel like this is such a no brainer it's not even funny. But again, it has less to do with the actual social service and more to do with the people running it. It's the ultimate variable!!! I learned that from working for Brad Greenspan, one of the founders of MySpace, on LiveVideo back at the end of 2007. The man was sitting on an AMAZING platform, but was solely interested in milking it for as much money as he could, then walking away. He had no long term vision, and was overall one of the hottest messes imaginable.
The most interesting part about all of this too, is that I actually consume WAYYYY more movies and television series on my computer than I ever did when I watched it on the flat screen thing on the wall that doesn't connect to the internet. Think of the potential for advertisers too!! Dude! You login to what you're watching on TV, sync it with your Facebook page, giving marketers access to your likes and dislikes ... this is going to create an UNIMAGINABLE marketing opportunity which can be friggen captured in REAL TIME!! I kid you not when I say that I think about this so much my head actually hurts. Greatest time to be alive!! Ever. Ever. Everrrrrrr!!
Bottom line, I can't tell you who is going to come out on top just yet ... it's way way wayyyyyy too far out. But SUPPERRRR stoked that TV is going social. There's SO much added value in it, its crazy. You guys make my life when I checkin to watching something on Netflix, and you tweet me details about what I'm watching. It's awesome ... and I'm listening, so keep it up!! Whoop whoop!