For instance, when you are offering a deal - “Hey .. you there .. I’ll give you 50% off my coffee if you buy it here instead of that shop across the street” - know when and where to offer it!  It does me no good to receive that offer as I am checking into “that shop across the street”, or even worse, while I am leaving it.

That’s where I feel location-based services like Gowalla or FourSquare are failing.  I check into a coffee shop and then it tells me if I go to someplace else, I’ll get a deal?  No thank you.  And don’t bother emailing me - that is worse than receiving the offer after I’ve purchased another product.

But let me give you some insight into lil’ ole’ me.  I go to a particular tea shop.  You guys know it’s a tea shop, as you have it listed as such.  And I go to this tea shop very often.  So often in fact, you guys are tripping over each other to give me badges.  If I am going there that often, chances are good I like tea*.  So how about the next time I flip open your application, I get your deals for tea and coffee right away.

Because it only requires common sense, not engineering, to figure out that I am not going to abandon the drink I just purchased in lieu of whatever deal you’re offering, and I am not going to remember the offer when I want to go for a second round (remembering where I want to go for my drinks is, after all, why I downloaded your stupid app in the first place).

As always, I’m @threedukes

* - Okay, I also go to this particular tea shop because the girls on both sides of the counter tend to be very high on the JimP scale.  But we’ll leave offers related to those kind of benefits for another time.

It’s been an interesting few months here at SocialGuides. The location space has heated up to say the least. This is in large part due to the success of check-in apps (Foursquare and Gowalla). We love what those guys have done and we couldn’t be more excited about it all – Location is our business…

Why do we love location? Location is all about the customer experience. It’s where the magic happens for a business – it’s what customers come for, it’s what customer experience is and it’s what customers talk about when they leave. For many businesses location is absolutely critical as it is where the customer experience happens (what we call Point of Experience) and it is where the revenue happens (Point of Revenue). It doesn’t matter whether you are a global brand with a local footprint (e.g. Starbucks) or a single business (e.g. your favorite pizza joint) looking to manage your customer experience/relationships – location is key. But it is nothing new to say location is important – everyone knows the first rule of real estate “location, location, location“. But technology and social media are evolving the nature of location. Platforms like Twitter, Yelp, Facebook and Foursquare are providing an amazing intersection of our real and digital worlds. It’s that intersection that we at SocialGuides are most excited about – we look to help businesses make the most out of the unique opportunities presented by the technology platforms and tools that bring the power of social media to the physical locations.  We are starting with Twitter (we are even more excited about Twitter after lasts weeks #Chirp conference).

So, with that said, let’s take a look at a few things we’ve been studying.  For the last month or so we’ve been curating some Twitter streams around particular businesses (which you can see at SocialGuides.com). It really got interesting at SXSW which was seen by many as the showdown for the check-in apps (it’s always interesting when you have that many technology folks in one city enjoying the lastest technology). We were there doing some customer development and field research (and enjoying BBQ). It was clear that the check-in apps where dominating the location game.  And when we went and looked at all the data sources of the location related content being published to the Twitter-stream it was clear (as illustrated below).

Share of Twitter Stream (during SXSW)

To do this we monitored a few Twitter streams on SocialGuides. Our technology pulls all the content about a business location from the Twitter stream and creates a curated stream on our site (and Android app – available now wink wink). It’s really pretty cool when you pull the location specific data out of the overall Twitter stream and create a stand alone stream. Check out the streams for a few of our Austin favorites - The Driskill, Scoot Inn & Moonshine.

So, now that SXSW is behind us we wanted to revisit some of the hot spots and see what the streams looked liked post-SXSW. What we found was pretty interesting (at least to geeks like us). We compared the sources of location data published to Twitter during a time frame at SXSW and then again after SXSW. The sources broke down to either Twitter related (twitter directly, clients, API, etc), Check-in apps (Foursquare and Gowalla) and then a very small fraction of ‘other’. Here are a few representative samples of locations in Austin:

Some locations where pretty balanced showing similar results for Twitter sources and Check-in apps (Driskill)

Share of Twitter Stream (during & post SXSW)

• While others showed a dramatic shift from Check-In to Twitter (Scoot Inn and Moonshine).

Share of Twitter Stream (during & post SXSW)

Share of Twitter Stream (during & post SXSW)

When it was all said and done a few weeks after SXSW the handful of spots we looked at where showing much more Twitter data compared to what we were seeing during SXSW (as illustrated below).  We find this all pretty fascinating so we wanted to share it with you all and get your thoughts.   This certainly points to the power of Twitter Places.

Share of Twitter Stream (post SXSW)

Since we look at data all day long, we thought we would share a few other interesting trends/observations:

• Many businesses that aren’t currently on Twitter have significant twitter conversation around their business and for businesses that are on Twitter, there is typically as much [in-direct] conversation & commentary happening as there is conversation directed at the businesses twitter handle.
• The content volume is amazing in short periods of time.  Some of the hot spots at SXSW (and a few of our personal favorites) had 100’s of posts in a matter of weeks.  What’s amazing about that is the variety of commentary/conversation. We are seeing a variety of content types including - Conversation, Check-in, Recommendation, Complaints, Referrals, Pictures, Reviews, etc
• And perhaps the most important thing is the value and quality of the content.  Overall, the content tends to skew quite positive.  We think there are a few contributing factors.  One the barrier to participation on Twitter is very low – it’s a 140 characters and you can do it on your mobile phone.  And the nature of the community tends to be one of enthusiasm and constructive.
• We think it’s safe to say the content being shared on Twitter is very useful for businesses, as it is effectively word of mouth visualized (and amplified) – but we will dig into content on another post.

So, the Check-in Apps have set off a brush fire of location based engagement & experimentation – and its just the beginning. We look forward to digging in deep to help businesses get the most out of the location equation, starting with Twitter. What do you think the impact of all these technologies will be on businesses?

So what is the twice as long theory? It simply states that everything you do will take twice as long as you think it will.  Yes, even if you are focused, yes even if you have smart people on your team, yes even if you subscribed to “modern methodologies” like agile.  Why? Simply because founders are inherently aggressive in what they believe can be accomplished (you have to be) and incredibly resource strapped at the same time (well you should be anyways).

We basically started working on SocialGuides at the beginning of 2009. At that point my timeline looked a little something like this: have a demo in 2 months, have a private alpha in 5 months, a beta in 8 and start commercializing by month 12.

What actually happened?

Well first it took us twice as long to build the demo.  This was basically a year before LBS was hot so first we underestimated what it would take to build the demo, since it was relatively new territory.  People tell you to build the smallest thing possible to demonstrate your most basic vision, we knew that, and still we didn’t.  Then we got into SPV and heard all these inspiring stories from other successful serial entrepreneur and our (well my) eyes got big.

So we decided to build our own lbs platform.  We spent all summer building it and by the end of summer we had a pretty successful private alpha that was basically focused on people and places in Atlanta.  The thought occurred to us to use Twitter where millions of people were already talking about locations (and was pointed out again and again by one of our awesome advisors, Jeff Hilimire), but our eyes were too big.  And so now there it was end of summer and while we had a cool product, I knew we had a long road ahead with the LBS wars that were looming and we were already months behind where I thought we should have been.

So we decided to gamble…

We took  the “location stuff” we built and transformed instead to completely revolve around the Twitter platform.  By the end of 09 we quietly released a beta and started privately seeding our mobile version.  Basically it took us a full year to get to where we were expecting to be with the product by the end of summer.  And now that Q1 2010 is winding down we are finally where we want to be as a business, it’s just that, yup, you guessed it, it took us twice as long to get here.

So here we are.

And one of the things I’ve learned along the way is that this whole twice as long part can kill you if you’re not careful.  We’ve lost key team members along the way, we’ve had to do at least one major pivot and few minor gambles along this road, and all of that can take its tole on people.  From both experiencing through previous companies I’ve been involved with, and seeing from the outside on others, I’ve noticed that by the time you get to where you wanted to be, you often have lost sight of what it is you were doing all that work for.

With the process taking you twice as long, it can be like the wind has gone out of the sails, just as the boat is finally seaworthy (sorry for the corny metaphor but I love sailing ;).  Maybe you are out of funding, maybe most of the team has left the project, or maybe you just dont have the motivation to work those 18hr days like you did a year ago. And so you are on the verge, yet you can’t hardly see it, because of exhaustion and fear.

Yet those entrepreneurial success stories you read about, nearly always get to that point.  Stories like Evan Williams at blogger being the only guy left in the founding team by the time he hit bottom (and subsequently got a second wind) are often not the exception, it’s the real story behind those rags to riches books. (side note: everyone with even the slightest entrepreneurial interests, should go read Founders at Work)

So is there a lesson in all of this?

Not really, just simply some observations after a year in SocialGuides. Finding your focus takes time, pivoting on an opportunity takes time. And in the technology world the ground is constantly shifting and time is your enemy.  But then again time is against everyone else to and it’s easy to forget this.  I’m personally fortunate, because yes, it’s taken us twice as long to find our footing, but we have, and many don’t, and I have the privileged of being part of an amazing team that is stoked on SocialGuides now more then ever.

What is taking place is not simply communicating every act we perform (however lofty of insipid), but offering our experience for others to take part.  Take one of my examples above: motion pictures.  Many felt the invention was a pointless, over-priced novelty surely to fade away because after all .. there were books, radio, and the ever classical stage theatre.  Surely Shakespeare himself would castigate the abomination.  But while motions pictures claimed to “improve upon” those other mediums, what motion pictures actually did was evolve how an audience member could experience something happening outside of their 5 senses.  Call it projection, call it trickery, call it “more efficient suspension of disbelief” - the point is that someone was one step closer to actually ‘being’ there, in that scene, with that hero, …

So while Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks allow us to communicate an idea to others (even if “…watched t.v. … now off to bed” is not much of an idea), what’s really happening is the broadcasting of my experience so others can be in it.  And this is particularly exciting when you keep in mind users can now be involved in many experiences in a short time .. almost simultaneously.

To put it another way, if you draw a circle around the experiences I will have today, I was limited in having to describe these experiences and convey them over and into the circle of another person’s experiences.  Today, that conveyance is made more tangible not technically by making communication easier, but by essentially allowing circles to overlap.

So to my parents, I shall excuse myself from the table & bid everyone a good night as I am going to bed now.  To the rest of my jacked-into-the-internet friends, well .. they’re all a little closer to actually feeling what’s it like to be me, in my life, and shutting for the night.

For some reason, I’m @threedukes.

@asbird is the final winner.  He had the most friends join, doing the very social method of recruitment: he went to friends and asked them to join, use the site, and see about going places.  Congratulations! (We shall be in touch for details, dude.)

@nicholaspatten did an amazing job, and I want to thank him especially for all his blog posts, Twitter activity, and even working some magic by getting people to donate to charity as they joined SocialGuides using his invite.  Nice work, @nicholaspatten.

@Elphaba had a phenomenal run as well, with some of her friends being the more active members of the site overall.  Additionally, she is the only one I found with a friend who joined, indicating in their profile that they were “…made to do it.”  -laugh-  Apparently, @Elphaba is not to be trifled with.

The remaining standings were:

1. @mjmazzon
2. @lance
3. @Kngcloudis, @Spencer
4. @catharticflux, @MichelleHight
5. @meikoseymour, @tessa

2 quick things in closing.  Next up is an Android Giveaway, but before people start conjuring images of C-3PO serving them breakfast & doing their French final (he does speak over 500 languages), I’m talking about the Google Android G1 smart phone.  We’re launching an application for that phone, so in the next day or two, we will start a contest for a free giveaway of one those phones.  I used to work at Google, so there should be some fun stories for ya as that contest goes on.

Lastly, now that the contest has ended, I would love to know what you thought of the contest - what you disliked, liked, want to see more of?  Contact me on SocialGuides by typing a note with @threedukes at the beginning.  If you want to send me a lot of information, tell me so on SocialGuides and I’ll send over my email to ya.

I look forward to hearing from everyone, but not before you’ve talking about some places you were at this weekend, on SocialGuides, first.

As always, I am @threedukes.

But this only opens us up for the next contest.  SocialGuides will be available in the Apple Store soon (for free) so we felt it appropriate to have an iPhone contest.  However, SocialGuides is blowing up so big, we accelerated our production schedule for other mobile devices as well, with the next mobile platform getting a SocialGuides app is the ever cool, ever snappable, ever black Google G1 Android.  See the details for that contest coming soon, but first … how is that iPhone contest going?

So the race is getting down to the wire, and it’s close folks.  Realizing that he had a whole fraternity house full of friends, @asbird has confidently moved 13 users ahead of @nicholaspatten, but @Elphaba is also bringing her long list of friends to bear and is only 8 users behind the 2nd slot. I’m thinking that all of the consistent effort from @nicholaspatten in the beginning just totally intimidated @mjmazzon as he seems to be moving slowly, and now @lance is about the surpass him.

So the standings for the next 6.5 hours are:

1. @asbird
2. @nicholaspatten
3. @Elphaba
4. @mjmazzon
5. @lance
6. @Kngcloudis, @Spencer
7. @catharticflux, @MichelleHight
8. @meikoseymour, @tessa

Set them loose folks .. this site rocks and it’s so great to be able to find a place based upon what people are actually saying about it .. and to even see what people are saying that very moment!  For instance, check out my play-by-play in Santa Barbara of #california taco# .

As always, I am @threedukes.

So I leave the blog alone for a couple days, and look at the upsets. The famous and strong @nicholaspatten is being ousted by the suddenly very active @asbird, who is now 6 new invitees ahead. @Elphaba has been seeing some action as well, now a mere 11 invitees behind the #2 slot. @mjmazzon .. what happened? Ya gotta fire up that mojo some.

The rankings, as they stand this very moment, are:

1. @asbird
2. @nicholaspatten
3. @Elphaba
4. @mjmazzon
5. @lance
6. @Kngcloudis, @Spencer
7. @catharticflux, @MichelleHight
8. @meikoseymour, @tessa

As @jeremyalmond and I race across the country, in search of adventure (or just trying to dodge misadventure), look for our notes on SocialGuides. However, I wanted to put some unique tid-bits in here, which cannot be found anywhere else.

1. 9 county markers were passed in 23 minutes, for 4 counties, when we first entered Texas. How can we pass Gray County 3 times!?!
2. One of the best brunch spots in Louisville, KY is a place called “Toast”. Ask @freerider about it - he loves it.
3. For all our jesting, Texas and Oklahoma were very pretty, country-side wise. Several people driving in the cars we passed? Not so much.

As always, I am @threedukes.

Some people have been thinking that our iPhone Giveaway contest is over, and so I am here to clear the confusion.  People can register now without the need of an invite code … but if they include their invite code (there is a field to do that during registration), you get the reference and the contest continues.  The only difference now is that a user doesn’t need an invite code.

So to get the iPhone, still send your invite code - and make sure your friends add it in during registration.  The contest ends at midnight, Pacific-time, on August 17th.

Still in the lead is @nicholaspatten, and still nipping at his heels are @Elphaba and @mjmazzon.  @asbird and @lance showed a lot of movement in the last 24 hours, though they’ll need at least 21 more people to join to edge out @nicholaspatten.

So the standings so far

1. @nicholaspatten
2. @Elphaba
3. @mjmazzon
4. @asbird
5. @lance
6. (tied) @Kngcloudis, @Spencer
7. @catharticflux
8. @meikoseymour
9. (tied) @Dave360, @delgadillo, @mblackmon2, @simplehuman, @snowell1

Remember that you can contact me on SocialGuides, and I will help resolve any question you might have.

As always, I am@threedukes .

Users of SocialGuides tie their notes to a business through direct conversation on the page of the business (think of being in the actual business as you talk about it) or by using the popular method of hash-tagging the businesses name through status updates.  The note appears in the business (allowing others to see what is ‘happening’ in that business in real-time) as well as appear in the feed of a user.  Later, when a user searches for a relevant business, the search is enhanced by all of those experiences left.

These days, more and more reviews found on local search sites are inaccurate, seeded by the listed business itself, or simply just doesn’t match well with a users interests.  And while many consumers are now sharing experiences via sites like Twitter and Facebook, much of the information has no context. If a user is hoping to find what their friends would consider to be a good place to go, they still have to perform further actions to find where the business is located, whether it’s close, or to find the basic business attributes.

SocialGuides is the happy marriage of the two, where the real-time nature of posting notes allows users to find places to go based on the people they know. Detailed business information is provided, including maps and lists of amenities, but more importantly the notes occurring for that business are in real-time. In fact, users can understand the experience at a business beforehand, deciding whether to go or not.

SocialGuides also takes it one step further, by adding Expertise and Prestige as ways to quantify the value of users and business.  The more a community believes a certain user is properly contributing, the greater their expertise rating.  And businesses that continue to have positive experiences from users gain Prestige, allowing SocialGuides to offer more relevant local search results in a city even if their friends have never been there.

The billions of postings on socialmedia sites have been considered the next frontier for the $7.1B local search market.  With the popularity of SocialGuides, even during their preliminary invitation-only launch, users are excited to discover that their next dinner date at or a nice night out can simply be found through the shared experiences of their friends.