The one thing Facebook has not done for us, until now, was help us shop, at least not directly. We have been using this social network to reconnect with people, such as friends, family, co-workers and others. We have shared interests in movies, music, hobbies, places, activities and causes. We were then granted the ability to check in to locations and share out whereabouts with the world. Along the way, there were other companies and platforms that allowed us to do each of these features or others. Yelp! has allowed us to leave reviews for restaurants. Foursquare let us check in at the places we went and Groupon provided us with deals for all the things we love most. Facebook as has slowly acquiring or implementing the ability to do each of those things. The last one has finally been added to the list.

1. Go to your page and from the sharing tool at the top of the timeline, click the yellow square that says Offer, Event +
2. Create a headline
3. Upload a photo
4. Set the limit on the number of claims
5. Set the expiration dates
6. Add your terms and conditions
7. Review your offer and click Post.

On April 16, there’s only one thing in tech to write about and it’s foursquare. Two years ago, adoring fans of the popular geolocation, check-in service names today Foursquare Day. Naturally, the date is important. If the service is called foursquare, the square of four is 16. So, April 16th or 4/16 is, naturally, Foursquare Day. That means that today, of all days, you should check-in - you’ll even get a special badge for it today.

What is foursquare? According to their about page

foursquare makes the real world easier to use. We build tools that help you keep up with friends, discover what’s nearby, save money, and unlock deals. Whether you’re setting off on a trip around the world, coordinating a night out with friends, or trying to pick the best dish at your local restaurant, foursquare is the perfect companion.

If that doesn’t make it make sense, here is how it works. Using a smartphone, because it has GPS in it, you launch a foursquare app. It will use the GPS and tell you all the places nearby. Select the place you are headed to, or just arrived at, and click the button to check in. You have not shared with the foursquare world (and Facebook and Twitter if they are connected) your location. Sounds scary to some people, but it is really a lot of fun and can result in good deals and savings as well.

The images in the slideshow talk about badges. Badges are a fun way to accomplish certain things. Be the first of your friends to check into a place that has 50 people also checked in at the same time and get the swarm badge. Find three places that have a photo booth and check into them to earn the photogenic badge. The don’t do anything other than offer a fun way to compete with friends. Points are the same thing. Every time you check in you get points. A standard check-in is a point. If you go multiple times per week, check in with the mayor, take the mayorship, first check-in, etc there are bonuses. It is just a tally that resets each week so you and your friends can harangue each other playfully about who has the most, or least, points.

Mayorships are similar. If you check into someplace more than anybody else, you’ll be the mayor and hold that title until someone else checks in more than you. Why is the mayor important? Other than a gold crown on your profile next to each destination that you are the mayor of, sometimes it nets you a discount. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was giving an extra scoop, for free, to the mayor. Starbucks had a free coffee per week for the mayor. The mayor typically gets perks because if you are there enough to be the mayor, then chances are you’re bringing friends or talking to them about it and you are rewarded for your loyalty.

Foursquare deals are relatively new. Foursquare for business allows venues to create a location or take control of an existing one created by users and offer deals. Look around and you’ll see window clings on doors and windows letting you know there’s a deal to be had there for checking in. Check into Chili’s with three or more friends and get a free queso dip. Check in with a group, to Buffalo Wild Wings, and get 20% off your bill. 

Some people worry about privacy and telling the world where they are every moment of the day. If you are somewhere secretive, you don’t check in. It’s that simple. If you are out in a restaurant, 200 people saw you anyway so there’s no need to worry that the world knows. However, you can control privacy to a degree. Sharing your check-in happens naturally with the foursquare community, but pushing that information to Facebook or Twitter is optional. You can befriend certain people and block others. The choice is yours. You can share all things or take action to check in privately (although you don’t get points for checking in privately).

This service is up to 2 billion check-ins per month. You read that right. 2 billion every month. It has put competitor, GoWalla, out of business. Why not do it? Why not take one moment to show the business you’re frequenting some love on a social network and open the opportunity to be rewarded for your loyalty? If you haven’t used foursquare ever before, foursquare day is a good time to start.

Social TV just got smarter. Get Glue, PhiloTV and Miso have been around for a while and each one offers a somewhat unique experience when it comes to checking to a TV show and letting the world know what you’re watching. 

Get Glue allows you to check into TV shows, movies, music and video games. It is the all-inclusive media check in site. Sometimes it seems a bit fragmented because of all of the options, but it is certainly comprehensive.

Miso is 100% focused on TV and aims to be part of the second scree immersion movement in the living room. It is pointed and focused without the distractions of Get Glue.

Philo seems to rely more heavily on trending topics so you can see what the world is watching more easily than the rest and it takes you away from your inner circle of friends.

There is one problem with all of these services as compared to the check in services we are used to like Foursquare,Gowalla, and Facebook Places. With social TV, you can check into ANYTHING whether you’re watching it or not. When using Foursquare, I cannot check into Buffalo Wild Wings while I’m at home. I cannot check into a place I was two days ago and forgot to check in while I am there. It uses the GPS functions of a smartphone to allow you check into places you are actually at. Nothing stops me from checking into any/every TV show using Get Glue or Miso just so I can earn a badge even though I’m nowhere near a TV. 

Forgetting the social TV scene for just a moment, consider an app/service that allows you to find all about a song you’re currently listening to on the radio. SoundHound does this, but even better than that is Shazam. This application appeared in the earliest days of Apple’s App Store. The applications works by “listening” to what you’re playing on the radio and finding a unique signature in the sound and pairing it with song. It then returns the name of the song, the artist that sings it and many links about that song, such as sites with lyrics, the ability to download it in iTunes, watch a YouTube video of it or even find tour info for the artist. It is not meant for searching for songs by typing (which can be done in SoundHound). It needs to hear the song.

Back to TV. The newest entrant into the social TV fray is IntoNow. It combines the environment and purpose with the listening technology of Shazam. Using IntoNow, you can let your phone listen to what is on your TV and check you into that show/movie while it is playing live. If you want to tell the world you are watching something, you should have to be watching it. This was my biggest question about Miso when I spoke to CEO Somrat Niyogi in February. It was then that I asked you - What are you watching?

The team at Miso feel that the social movement is enough to cause people to use their devices and check in while watching TV. It is their belief that the second screen (Smartphone, iPad, laptop/netbook) is already integrated into our lives enough that it isn’t a thought for most people to use it to check in. I disagreed then, I disagreed recently, and I disagree even more now. Frankly, I forget to check in nearly always. After the fact, when I’m reminded (usually by seeing someone else do it on my Facebook news feed), I check into everything I have watched recently. My check ins appear on my own Facebook wall, giving the appearance that I’m watching multiple things at once or channel flipping while compulsively checking in.

Since adding IntoNow to my phone, I’m forced to remember and ingrain the process into my routine because if I don’t check in while I’m watching something, I can’t check in at all - just like when I visit a location on Foursquare. When I forget to check in to a location or show while I’m watching it, I kick myself later knowing that I missed a social opportunity, so I work at it to remember as it happens.

The benefit of this is honesty, for starters. People earn their badges/stickers. Friends also see see what other friends are watching as it happens. I may forget it is Shark Week and seeing a buddy check into it weeks later does not help remind me. Using IntoNow, I know to turn it on, watch it and then engage in the social arena with other friends that are watching it.

Another great benefit is the exploration. By tapping the “Everyone” tab at the top of the app, I can see what total strangers are watching right now. If it it something I know I like or even sounds interesting I can tune to it. I can then tap on his or her entry and discuss or recommend that show as well as push the update to Facebook and Twitter to my social graph sees what I am watching at that exact moment.

The social implications of the listening technology and how it limits interaction to current watching habits are important. I think if social TV grows and matures into a mainstay of social media, it will be with IntoNow at the helm. The arrival of IntoNow and the embedding of listening technology into social TV may very well be the moment that GetGlue, Miso and Philo all jumped the shark. Unless any one of those three brands do something innovative, there is no reason to use them over IntoNow with the real-time check in style that they employ.

This is the next iteration of technology, keeps people honest and relevant and introduces an ability to enlarge one’s social graph and influence. So, what are you watching RIGHT NOW?

Location based, checkin services are not foreign to anyone with a smartphone or connected device anymore. Most people have seen their friends (or have themselves) check into locations via Foursquare, Facebook Places or Gowalla by now. This process has become part of many people’s daily lives. The one thing many people fail to find in this process is value beyond novelty.

Some retailers have offered discounts for regular check in participants and even free items for “Mayors” (the person who checks into any one location the most). People check into places they go anyway and tell the world about it. You can see where your friends are checking into to find cool places.

Foursquare has updated their app in a very new and exciting way. At the bottom of the app is a tab labeled “explore” and it gives users ways of finding new places to go. Even more fun is that it doesn’t rely on existing friendships. This relies purely on location. When entering this part of the app, the user can set the radius and the relationship. You can see locations nearby that you have checked into, friends, or everyone. 

I set it mine to everyone and 10 miles. I can now see a recommended place, its address, written recommendations and how many of my friends have checked in there and how often as well.

Explore will be an excellent way to find new places to go in your area as well as get some insight to the venue whether it’s food, music, hotels or any other category. Gone are the days of announcing to the world where you’ve been for no other reason. Now the database of places builds on itself. For every recommendation you leave, you’re helping grow the list for others and them for you.

The social side of Foursquare and location services just grew exponentially with this update, as did the value of using such a service. This is a win all around for the location based, mobile space. Great job Foursquare.

Everyone has been checking into locations via Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places. Lately, you may have seen a new type of check in on your Facebook or Twitter feed. People are announcing what they are watching on TV

There seem to be three major players in this category of check in - GetGlue and Miso. I first heard about GetGlue and gave it a shot. After a few uses I realized that just checking into everything I was watching required more discipline than I  was willing to put in to tell the world about it. With Foursquare for example, the GPS tells you where you’re at. With GetGlue, my phone or laptop did not know what I was watching so I had to search for it. Also, I could claim I was watching anything at all, even if I wasn’t. Philo on the other hand, polled me about my location and TV provider to enable a channel lineup with currently playing shows. I like the relevancy there.

When I check into locations using Facebook Places, it’s usually because I’m in Facebook anyway so it is a natural progression to complete that task. What would remind me to check into a TV show? I had all but dismissed this new service. A friend started to use Miso, which I had heard about but wasn’t any more interested in it than GetGlue. I checked it out anyway, just in case I was missing something. It was the same. The only difference was that Miso was focused on TV unlike GetGlue that lets me check into the Show, the soundtrack, the cast individually and any other product or person associated with the show. Miso was at least very streamlined.

I wanted to know why these products were cool so I crowdsourced some answers on Twitter. The first to reply was @GoMiso. I figured I’d give the company a chance to defend itself and asked to speak with someone. @MisoSupport responded promptly with an email address. I sent an email out on a Friday evening explaining that I wanted to post a column explaining why this part of social media was fun. Within an hour I got a response back from their CEO. We exchanged a few emails and set up a Skype call for the next morning.

We spoke for nearly an hour and I have to tell you, I didn’t find out why it is cool. The answer I did get was better. I was told how it can be cool in the future. We spoke of innovation; a sector of social media in its infancy; of being first to explore a new space. That news made me happy.

When Foursquare launched, you could check in. Everyone said, “So what? Why?” and the answer was, “So you can tell people where you are.” “But what does it do?” “It lets your friends know about the places you go.” “And what purpose does that serve?” “To be social.” And around and around it went.

When I spoke to Somrat Niyogi, the CEO of Miso, he spoke of Miso’s focus on TV and where it can go. He told me, more than once, that the check in is not the point. That is just the beginning. So if that is the beginning, where does he see it going? The honest answer is that he doesn’t know. He doesn’t think anyone in this space really does, but he has some ideas.

Here are some basic thoughts on what the future may hold:

• Integration with Internet-connectable TVs providing automated (or streamlined) check ins based on what you’re watching.
• Information provided about the show you’re watching (a la VH1 Pop Up video perhaps?)
• Further information about topics. Think about watching the 6:00 news and a disease is discussed. If you are checked in, then you can have an option to be taken directly there.

With smartphones, tablets and notebooks within arms reach while watching TV, we find the living room is becoming smarter. People often use their phone while watching TV. I have had a movie on HBO on my TV, a Jets game on my laptop, FaceTime call on my iPhone and glancing at my iPad for new tweets. That’s real use of the 2nd screen concept. That is becoming more and more common. The team at Miso feels very strongly about the habit of using a 2nd screen to share information about current TV watching activities. 

My biggest question revolved around having a user adopt the practice of checking in when the user is not living inside of a large ecosystem like Facebook. Somrat is confident that the integration of the 2nd screen in everyone’s lives, the additional content provided via Miso and their focus on TV (as opposed to the fragmentation of GetGlue and its ability to check into anything media related - my words, not his) will make Miso a part of the TV watching experience.

Can the Miso team make this second nature and expand the popularity of this portion of the social space? They have as good a chance as anyone, if not better. I haven’t spoken to the folks at GetGlue and don’t know their future plans or ideas. I’d say this is an untapped portion of the social space that is waiting for an ecosystem to be built around it. The framework is in place. The interest is there. Now let’s see what the Miso team can do to engage us and keep us using it. Since my conversation with Somrat, I’ve been much more conscious about checking in and I am excited to see what’s next.

More importantly, I’m waiting to see the evolution of this space across all providers. Is there room for more than one or will the first to innovate and grow dominate the space and be the Facebook of TV? What features do people want? What will make users adopt this process into their daily lives. There are questions that will be answered as this space gets explored. If there is one thing that is for sure, it is that the social media movement is driving us toward total sharing and transparency.

So, what are you watching?

- Yes, the font is smaller
- No iPad app
- No phone
- New addition to location services

An update to the Facebook Instant Authorization mess.