A presentation made to the University Libraries' New Technology Team at the University of South Carolina on location-based services.

1. Location-based services for
libraries:
or, why we should invest in “the next big thing”
Ashlie K.Conway
Social Media Club of Columbia, SC 2/11/2010
New Technology Team 2/15/2010
Music Librarian, U. of South Carolina
Conwaya@mailbox.sc.edu

2. What are location-based
services (LBS)?
Users download an application (an “app”) for free
They use a GPS or wifi enabled phone or iPod (most
often iPhone, Android, or Blackberry)
They “check-in” at a location with the option to tell their
friends
They get virtual rewards within the app (some may be
tangible)

3. Image by Irish Typepad: http://www.flickr.com/photos/irisheyes/4307046459/
Benefits to patrons/users

4. Lets you know popular spots
Helps you make a connection & get rewards from
businesses
Explore places in your own community that you
wouldn’t necessarily go to (to get rewards)
Prepares you for places with special requirements
(cash only)
Helps you remember places you visit both at home &
traveling

5. Benefits to businesses

6. Business benefits:
Customers offer you constant exposure
and word of mouth
• Opens the door for new kinds of
promotions to reward patrons
• Customer behavior is tracked, allowing
habits to be identified and leveraged
• It connects you with your digital patrons,
people who probably have a lot of clout
in their circles
From http://outspokenmedia.com/social-media/foursquare-divides-the-web/

7. Special mayor-only rewards are cropping up...and
they’re creating customer loyalty battles that are good
for regulars and great for businesses
Develops a deeper connection between place and
patron
Good customer reviews may lead to new customers
Can measure foot traffic to a store, proving quantifiable
ROI
From http://mashable.com/2010/01/16/foursquare-world/ and New York Times: http://nyti.ms/biFSbF
and http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=138305

8. Cheap marketing!
“For example, it would cost $5 for a restaurant to
give my brother a free dessert for being mayor, but
with Foursquare linked to Twitter
(read word-of-mouth), that $5 could go a long way
towards driving people to that venue”
From http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=138305

9. Why? What’s the point?
People (mostly college age) log in daily & share about
12 pieces of info a week on facebook
From http://bit.ly/aND2Hl
We need to pay attention to social media
Look at how we can adapt business tactics to
marketing our libraries
Advertise like a public library to build community
connections

10. 84% Of Americans say
online reviews influence their purchasing decisions,
according to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation
New York Times: http://nyti.ms/biFSbF
We need community members
to “buy” into our campus libraries

11. Today’s focus:
FourSquare
Gowalla
Yelp

12. About FourSquare:
Foursquare aims to encourage people to explore their
neighborhoods and then reward people for doing so.
We do this by combining our friend-finder and social
city guide elements with game mechanics - our users
earn points, win mayorships and unlock badges for
trying new places and revisiting old favorites.
From http://foursquare.com/businesses/
FourSquare is
“Revolutionizing the very way we think about social
media and turning it into a form of currency”
[Think customer loyalty punch cards]
From http://mashable.com/2010/01/16/foursquare-world/

13. FourSquare Glossary:
Check-in: telling FourSquare where you are via GPS or
physical address
Mayor: a person who visits a given place more than
anyone else
Badges: think of them like little trophies or rewards for
going to interesting places
Points: another reward/another way to compete
against your friends.
Tips: your recommendations to others
To Dos: notes to yourself

14. TCL on FourSquare website

15. RCPL includes a tip!

16. Badges Timeline Leaderboard

17. Gowalla
Very similar to FourSquare
No mayorships
More like geocaching
Can create trips

18. Gowalla Glossary:
Passport: “Home” screen that shows where all you’ve
been and what items you have
Spot: a place
Stamps: Places you’ve been (hence “passport”)
Pins: rewards for completing trips
Items: virtual things to drop/swap at a spot

19. TCL on Gowalla

20. Passport The Music Library Activity

21. Yelp
Very similar to Gowalla & FourSquare
Known mostly for business reviews
No rewards, items, etc.
Tie-in with Yahoo!

24. Image by Travelin’ Librarian: http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelinlibrarian/223839049/
Colleges and LBS

25. What’s going on at UNC
Charlotte?
UNC’s campus-wide use of FourSquare:
http://vimeo.com/8038742
The pilot program connecting Foursquare and Auxiliary Services, means that UNC
Charlotte is the first university in the country to use Foursquare to spread dining
services information and promotions to students, faculty, staff and campus visitors.
What that means for Foursquare users is this: checking in at UNC Charlotte may yield
an electronic coupon to a nearby dining venue. If you’ve reached Mayor status, the
coupon has even greater value. What’s more, you could be helping both Foursquare
and UNC Charlotte pioneer better, more effective ways to communicate products and
services to students and the campus community.
From http://bit.ly/9qFbmc

26. What’s going on at Harvard?

27. What’s going on at Harvard?
Harvard is the first university to use foursquare to
help students explore their campus and
surrounding places of interest. Users who have
visited a predetermined number of sites on the
campus will be awarded the Harvard Yard badge
on their foursquare profiles.
From http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/01/harvard-and-foursquare/
“Harvard is more than classrooms and buildings. It is an interconnected community of people,
ideas, and experiences, and we are actively pursuing ways to enhance those connections,”
said Perry Hewitt, director of digital communications and communications services for Harvard
Public Affairs and Communications. “We believe that Harvard’s participation will allow our
community to engage with friends, professors, and colleagues in new ways. We also hope
visitors and neighbors will benefit from the platform as it grows through use.”
“Universities are places of such incredible talent and energy,” said Dennis Crowley,
foursquare’s co-founder. “And that is why we’re excited about Harvard’s participation and the
potential for foursquare to bring people together.”

28. University Tours

29. About universities and LBS:
If you think about it, tapping into the hyper-local university
scene is brilliant. Think about freshman still trying to acclimate
to a new campus. They can use the app and game to uncover
the university hot spots, find the best social gatherings (maybe
even a great kegger), bond with their peers and actually learn
a thing or two about social media in real-life context. We think
it’s genius.
From http://mashable.com/2010/01/12/harvard-foursquare/

30. So what’s the catch?
Furthers the distance
between the “haves” and
“have nots”
Who will win the LBS war?
Image by GoonSquadSarah: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah606/254843481/

31. Why should we invest?
Major corps. are So are major
partnering with LBS universities:
providers: Harvard
UNC Charlotte
New York Times University of Arkansas
HBO Ohio State
The History Channel University of South Carolina?
Zagat
Warner Bros.
Lucky Magazine
Bravo

32. Questions? Discussion?