One of the groups that I have really enjoyed going to their events has been the Social Media Club – Knoxville. I first was part of the group when they had their launch party a while ago (amazing how time flies by!) and it is a great networking opportunity to meet fellow professionals and practitioners in the area that really appreciate and integrate social media into their business and public relations practices. Not only that – these are professionals that are innovators and early adapters when it comes to new technology and trends. The club has hosted numerous events – from guest speakers to various panel sessions – all have been really enlightening and wonderful. Tonight was no exception – the club along with Pyxl and Laura Bower PR hosted an event and panel dedicated to talking about Foursquare, one of the frequently talked social media sites out there right now that focuses on people checking in at various businesses and other institutions and if you check in enough – you become the “mayor” of the restaurant, store, or business in question.
The panel for this event shared their personal and professional experiences with the crowd at Crown and Goose (a local Knoxville restaurant in Old Downtown) – and it was very intriguing to see where social media is going and what to expect. Some of the suggestions and comments that the panelists made were really interesting – I think that it is key for business professionals today to be aware of the needs and expectations of their clients when operating with new technology and applications like Foursquare, and see if this is even an option for them to investigate as part of their campaign. Some brands have been very successful in doing this (ex. Starbucks) and others are just jumping on board. As someone that is interested in social media pertaining to crisis communications – I asked the panel a question to see if 1) what would happen if people checking in at specific places (ex. restaurant) and then created a false rumor (ex. “I just checked in at XYZ, and the food is contaminated – do not eat here!” and 2) what are some best practices that organizations and professionals can do to address this and other potential crises?
The panelists did a good job in answering this question – yet we as crisis communicators need to explore this new technology a little bit more. How can we address a crisis on Foursquare proactively? What about other issues that organizations and professionals need to be aware of? (ex. hacking, false advertisements and coupons, etc). These are definitely some issues and questions that businesses and professionals today need to address. Technology may change, but people don’t – so we have to look at not only the benefits of a new social media site, but also the risks and challenges that it might cause. The more proactive we are in addressing these issues and figuring out the possible scenarios that this could create, the better off we will be.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed the event on Foursquare and took away a lot of great information and met some amazing professionals. I would like to thank Laura Bower for co-hosting the event – it was great to see you again! I would also like to thank Brenda and Nicole for all of their hard work and effort in helping organizing this event as well – another fabulous event, ladies! Keep up the great work! 🙂 I am looking forward to the next event held by the Social Media Club in Knoxville. FYI – if you are interested to see what others have said and discussed on Twitter regarding the event, the hashtag is #4sqknox.
Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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