Media Bites-June 25 2010

For all of you Media Man fans that poke fun at all the gym and Starbucks check ins, here's a little update on location based marketing ( or as a friend of mine lovingly calls it: pleaserobmyhouse.com)

Startups and other less than visible brands are moving from useless games that take up space to a practical app that is actually a lot of fun.

As an example, take the newest geotargeted app on the scene-http://www.goby.com/. Say you want to look for hiking trails in Appalachia on a specific date. Your search will deliver a list of places to visit and a map of where they are. But it doesn't stop there. Click on a pin to a new location (the Adirondack Park) it will magically give you the same search results, different location. Looking for a the hottest wings in Memphis? Search and discover the price and location, move the pin to Austin and bingo-same search, different city.

Tasti D-Lite recently launched TastiRewards (http://www.tastidlite.com/). Mashable explains that customers can use their Treat Cards to gather points for purchases and those that opt in to social media bonuses are atuomatically entered to additional points.

And lets not forget my personal favorite Foursquare. I checked in at a NYC hotel for a conference and immediatley received a text that noted ( and I'm paraphrasing) 'Luann from the Real Housewives of NYC says that three blocks from here is the best Asian restaurant on the Upper East Side' Now, most people would find that annoying and obtrusive. However, I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Get on the grid and give one of these a try.