Brandcast Media

Facebook is announcing its long-awaited move into the location-sharing space, saying that users of the social network will now be able to share their location with friends. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there were three central aspects to the feature, which Facebook is calling Places; users will be able to “check-in” to share their locations, look up where their friends are, and also find new locations to go to.

Users will be able access the feature via an “advanced mobile browser” or from the company’s new iPhone app, which is debuting today. Product manager Michael Sharon explained that when a user is at a certain location he or she will be able to look up that “place” on their phone and then “check-in.” Each “place” will also have its own page on Facebook, which will let users see what other Facebook members are “here now” at a given moment-if they have selected to share that information.

Facebook appears to have learned its lesson from its previous privacy fiascos; Sharon said the company understood that broadcasting location was particularly sensitive to many users and that the default setting with Places therefore is that check-ins will only be visible to friends and not to everyone. Users will also be able to limit access to only a few specific people if they wish.

Question is - do you really all your Facebook friends to know where you are….? Time will tell when this goes live in the UK soon.

EPIC. Who said TV advertising is dead? Needs several viewings to appreciate the complexity of what Nike have done here. The gauntlet has been well any truly thrown down to other sportswear manufacturers (any just about anyone else) in the run up to the World Cup.

Really interesting blog post here from HubSpot- showing how people are more likely to purchase and recommend products/services from brands they follow in social media, and social media is a powerful tool when used properly.   
  
So, as well as providing good content, it is vital to engage in conversation with your followers on social networks. People like to do business with people that they know, and social networks are a great way to develop relationships with all sorts of people that you may never reach through traditional media.

We’ve come across this great set of videos that explain things like RSS, blogs, Twitter and phishing in straightforward English. Here’s one about Social Media that we like: