We’re all guilty of playing a little foursquare on our iPhones throughout the day. We “checkin” to various locations with hopes of gaining badges or mayorships, but the checkin is rapidly becoming an important tool for many businesses. While the checkin feature on an app provides information about the location to users, it also allows the business, or checkpoint, to offer a special promotion or even track which of its most loyal fans visit. While some protest the idea.The possibility for promotions and interactive advertising are endless.

Ever participated in a "Dot Race" when you were younger at a sporting event? A sports venue could do you one better by allowing a checkin before the game letting you interact with other fans via fantasy leagues, team trivia, or even a little friendly trash talking. Concert and movie venues can also benefit from the checkin tool by offering discounts on merch and concessions in exchange for opinions, ratings or even participation in trivia. Venues could also benefit from sending users info about upcoming tours based on past shows they have attended. Although the checkin tool is still being molded and slowly integrated, it seems that interactive advertising is about to take it to the paint.

I know, I know. DrupalCon San Francisco 2010 is still over two months away, but I'm already starting to lose sleep from excitement. Most of the toys I got for Christmas are broken, all my New Years resolutions have fallen by the way side, and really, DrupalCon is all I have left. For those of you who have never attended a DrupalCon, this list will disperse the fog of confusion clouding your decision whether or not to attend. If you've been before, already purchased your ticket, and have your bags packed, then add to my list in a comment below. Because, just like my tooth brush last year in DC, I'm sure I forgot something. Without further ado, here are the seven best things about DrupalCon:

1. Something for Everyone

Oh so cliche, but oh so true. Whether you're a newb who hasn't even installed Drupal yet, or a seasoned vet who wears DrupalCon badges like mink pelts around your waist, there are sessions to be had, information to learn, and knowledge to share. Even us marketing and sales types get immense benefit out of the week's activities (and I'm not just talking about the pub crawls). The general flow and wealth of knowledge is utterly amazing. If you're a friend, spouse, child etc. of a Drupal person, then no worries, there's a group for that too (Check the DrupalCon forums and the Drupalgangers Group for more info).

2. Community

Why does knowledge flow like milk and honey at DrupalCon? Because the community is awesome. Ask any question about why Drupal rocks and one answer sums it up: Community. If I talk anymore about it, I might tarnish it's reputation so I'll leave it at this: Community is one of the best things at DrupalCon.

3.Diversity

There's a buzzword. Webster's defines it as the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization. They've got it almost right. Add different skill sets, backgrounds, perspectives, goals, cool t-shirts and you're almost there. Take the expanded definition, add a sprinkle of "how can i benefit everyone I come in contact with", and a dash of "I want to learn through your experiences" and you've got Drupal diversity just about right.

4. T-Shirts

Anything 'techy' and t-shirts are practically synonymous. My personal favorites are the Volacci Drupal 6 Cheat Shirt (for obvious reasons), and the Acquia "free as in beer, free as in speech" design.

5. After-Parties

Who new this group of open source fanatics knew how to have fun?! Although, after talking code all day, who wouldn't want to cut loose and throw a few cold ones back? Look for the Volacci party in San Francisco. I hear it's gonna be epic!

6. IRL

(That's "In Real Life" in case you didn't know) Although IRC is the day-to-day playground for many, it's really not enough. DrupalCon is the yearly Mecca for most of us, and there's something special about seeing the Drupal community live and in action that just doesn't come through on the album.

7. Exotic Locations

This ain't your grandma's house, son! Boston, DC, Paris, San Francisco, Cabo, Austin. (Ok, so I made up the last two) Who doesn't enjoy a little travel to some of the best cities in the world? It definitely makes it easier to bring the Mrs. along, and who wants to go to Vegas every year?

Those are the seven things we like best about DrupalCon, but what are yours? If you're going to San Fran for DrupalCon 2010, make sure to look us up. We'll be announcing details of the Volacci party and other cool stuff as the details are finalized, so check back soon!

-@joshdward

Blogs have been an important part of the social online community since Al Gore invented the internet. Recently, marketing professionals have picked up on this trend and have began using it to their advantage. As blogging becomes a more popular part of online marketing, it has begun to replace many roles traditionally held by web pages. Not only is a blog cheaper (free!) and more manageable than a web page, but the effects on SEO have been huge. Here are 4 key points to reaping the SEO benefits of your blog:

1. Fresh Content- Google rewards sites with continuously updated content by ranking them higher in the SERPs. The addition of new content also means that your website will be crawled more frequently and your content will become searchable faster. A consistently updated site will also draw the attention of users and keep them coming back on a regular basis. Popular blogs such as The Huffington Post and Perez Hilton have kept the attention of millions by updating their posts almost hourly.

2. Relevant Content- It's very important to keep your blog focused on topics relevant to your company. The use of keywords during your blogging will help you clearly communicate what your site is about, thus raising your overall search visibility. Remember, write for your readers first, and then come back to sprinkle the keyword dust on your content.

3. Organized Content- A blog itself is simply content kept in chronological order. However, you can also organize blog content into other types of categories and themes. The Google likes well organized content because it's easier to figure out the main themes of your website if the content has been siloed properly. Users also appreciate a well structured blog where they can easily navigate to other pages of interest and gobble up all that yummy content you have.

4. Building Relationships- Loyal blog readers can also increase a sites visibility by advocacy through their own sites as well as commenting within your blog. Don't just turn on a setting to allow comments on your blog, encourage and challenge your readers to respond. If you take it a step further, and take the time to respond to their comments, the skies the limit. What better advertising is there than being able to directly connect with your target audience?

A great CMS like Drupal can easily get you started and allows for easy expansion as your blogging empire grows. Although constant blogging seems like a chore, it keeps search engines and users coming back to your site. Once your blog is up and running, relax and be patient. You may not see results immediately, but with hard work and a little elbow grease your site's SEO ranking will begin to reap the benefits.

A few months ago I did a presentation on running a successful twitter account. The 40 minute video can be seen here. If you've got a little less time on your hands, our wonderful intern, Marissa Reinert, put together a summary of the things I covered:

What is Twitter?

Twitter has become a popular staple in the social media scene. It's a site used for micro-blogging ( 140 characters or less). You can use your Twitter account to post at any time about absolutely anything, including your day, current events or business updates. Not only is Twitter extremely relevant and a great way of staying on top of current events, but it's also a fantastic tool for networking. You can find people in your local community, or half way around the world, to connect with. Despite its festive name Twitter can be difficult to learn and highly addictive once mastered. All in all, Twitter is an extremely useful and time consuming social media tool.

What Twitter is not...

Twitter is not a quick way to get rich. Although Twitter can connect you to thousands of people or "followers" in an instant, the connection is worthless unless they are actually listening to you. Developing connections with quality followers takes time and effort. Therefore, making money on Twitter also takes a lot of time and effort as it is directly connected to the type of relationships you develop.

Twitter is not a popularity contest. The amount of followers you have is not relevant to your success on Twitter. In fact, many Twitter accounts are actually "Twitter-bots". These "Twitter-bots" are simply programs created to follow users and interact with their posts in hopes users buy something from them.

Twitter is not a replacement for SEO. Although Twitter is useful, it cannot create a consistent stream of revenue for your business. With SEO you can optimize your site, achieve rankings and count on a consistent month to month income. However, Twitter can grow your community, create a large database of potential clients and help spread the word about your company.

Getting Started

The first step in creating your Twitter account is uploading a profile picture of the person actually using the account. A picture of the user will help others on Twitter recognize you are a real person and not a " Twitter-bot." When creating a company profile you can use the company logo especially if several company members are active on twitter as well.

Don't spend more than 10 minutes designing your background. Most followers will not bother to visit your actual homepage. A simple branding of the page with your company's logo will suffice.

While writing a quick blurb about your company in the "bio" section, be sure to include your company's phone number. Avoid certain words such as "guru" , "rockstar", " money" and "free." These words are associated with spam and scams, and they will drive users away.

How to Participate

Listen. Listen to your followers and those you follow. This is a great way to learn techniques for twitter as well as get a pulse on what engages your followers.

Participate. Be sure to re-tweet daily. By becoming more active and involved with others, your followers will become more interrsted and in turn listen to you as well. Make your Tweets count, talk with people, not at them.

Be Loud and Popular. Be engaging to your followers, if they find you interesting they will send more followers your way. If you want your thoughts and ideas to be heard, they have to be big and bold. They have to be heard above the noise.

Etiquette

Do not follow everyone that follows you. Look at their account and decide if they're "following the rules." If not, don't follow them.

Send a "thank you" message to new followers and include specific information from their profile or feed. This begins a genuine relationship with a potential quality follower.

No automatic DM's. These appear to be spam to other users.

Cool People to Follow

@volacci

@joshdward

@chrisbrogan

@lisabarone

@bestbuyCMO

@breakingnews

@rww

Useful Tools

Twitter has a plethora of tools to keep you connected to the community including Tweet Deck, Spaz, Search.Twitter.com, Tweetchat.com and Bud URL.