Real time social networks like FourSquare, Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook are certainly changing things professionally for me on a daily basis. One thing that I've noticed though is that smaller businesses are learning to adapt and exploit the incredible benefits of real time social networks. Almost daily I'm reminded of the incredible power of this interconnected world. I do consider myself a techie; love my Apple products, and always interested in the latest and greatest of gadgets. Recently I'm starting to see the conscious mind shift of those thought to be at one time digitally-illiterate though. These are my reasons why real time social networks are changing business for you as a consumer or business entrepreneur.
1. Instant gratification - Kogi style
If you haven't heard of the success story yet of Kogi BBQ (http://kogibbq.com/), then you're missing out on an incredible story. Kogi BBQ is simply a mobile Korean BBQ truck that travels around Los Angeles and surrounding areas selling tacos. They've been able to attract nearly 57,000 twitter followers by simply tweeting what corner they'll be parked, selling their tacos. Of course it helps when you have great food, which they do according to their four star rating on Yelp from over 1,200 reviews. When was even the last time you purchased food from a mobile truck? Maybe in Manhattan at 3am? Kogi's loyal following has people actually driving to and wait several hours, sometimes as many as 400 people on one location. How can your business or service begin to utilize the power of social networks to provide instant gratification to your consumer base?
2. LIVE Data Streaming - Good or Bad?
News travels so fast these days it's as if your friend is standing right there whispering in your ear. We also receive our news updates in the same manner. I probably can attribute 75% of all of the news I read or find out about to real time social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Instead of receiving that text message or the phone call from a friend announcing his or her engagement, I see the status update on Facebook. This aspect of real time networks is incredible, however there can be a dark side to it. Imagine a world where everything is connected, every thought shared, and every action documented. You may or may not have heard about the website called Please Rob Me, but I encourage you to check it out. With the emergence of sites like FourSquare and Twitter people are posting where they're at any given moment. I'm at this restaurant, club, bar, museum, etc. Obviously from a business standpoint there are many applications that can come from this, but if you think about the potential hazards this has you'll look at those posts in a different light. Please Rob Me has aggregated real time sites to post where people are at any given moment, answering the simple question "I wonder if the person who lives here is home?" Their intention is NOT to encourage people to break into homes, but to create awareness for the positive and negative elements of real time data streaming and sharing. So the next time you want to 'Check-In' on your mobile phone at that favorite restaurant you're about to enjoy...think about who 'could' potentially use that message in a compromising way.
3. Mobile Coupons and Tickets - A green alternative
This feature is for the 17% of adult U.S. subscribers owning a smartphone device. Cutting out coupons from the Sunday newspaper will become a thing of past. Mobile tickets will replace the paper boarding passes at the airport or the tickets for that upcoming concert event. Eight months ago Ticketmaster started large-scale mobile ticketing in the U.S. and Bollywood fans don’t need tickets torn at Indian cinemas. I suspect that in 2010 a trend will begin to occur where you'll be able to make fast and easy transactions online with just a few clicks of your mobile device. Applications on the iPhone, Droid, and BlackBerry are already there, and more will be developed as each day progresses.
4. Credit Card processing
The announcement of Square's official launch has many techies and business owners excited for the possibilities for a credit card processor connected to your mobile device. Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder, is heading up Square which has already launched in Beta versions. Here's a demo video by Digg founder Kevin Rose:
5. What's next?
Bernhard Schroeder, Director of San Diego State University's Entrepreneurial Management Center and also oversees all of the
undergraduate and graduate internship programs, proposed the idea that I'd love to see. At the "Social Media for Business" interactive seminar/workshop he suggested capacity type businesses like movie theatres, sport events, or musical concerts to leverage the power of real time technology. The ability for a business to blast out to their network that a particular amount of tickets are left as a last minute ditch effort to sell their inventory is an incredible advantage for them. I predict that real time video sharing will become popular as the advancements in cell phones continue. How about a HD Flip Video Camera with Wi-Fi connectivity? The introduction of the iPad into the consumer market will spurt additional programs, games, and applications that take real time to the next level as well.
Whether you embrace technology or not, it's hard not to admit the incredible changes it's making in everyone's life. While I encourage everyone to be aware of the possibilities out there, begin to think about how this could add value to your business or customer base. It's a brave new world out there and social networks are really just the start to this interconnected world.
