Love Lost In Foursquare Breakup

As a hardcore Foursquare user, I hate to admit it but the service has lost a bit of its mojo with the recent update which split the service into two components – Foursquare and Swarm.

The new Foursquare functions similar to Yelp and expands on the service’s previous efforts to focus on local discovery and recommendations. Foursquare continues to deliver on both aspects but now relies on Swarm, its sister app for new location data.

Swarm functions much like the original Foursquare and is faster than its predecessor for check ins. Some of the components migrated over from the original service include the ability to see nearby friends, check in to various locations, and view venue specific info. Added to the service is an increased awareness of your location when you open the app, stickers to represent actions, and similar to Facebook’s recent “Nearby Friends” feature, the ability to broadcast and share your location with friends to increase the chance of impromptu meet-ups.

Core components missing from the new apps include the stat board, badges, points, and Foursquare's popular Mayorships.

The Foursquare breakup while not perfect isn’t a death sentence for the location service necessarily. It’s likely only the beginning of the next chapter.

As a longtime underdog in the social media world Foursquare has adapted and changed with the times. It has proved it can be resilient and focused on an established vision. All being said however with its increasing age, it runs the risk of losing ground to newer apps on the market. One of the most notable is Move. It was recently acquired by Facebook and tracks movement and location without the need for user driven check ins. Paradoxically, it’s powered by Foursquare for location data.

For now I’m still in, even if it means I can’t be the Mayor of my favorite spots.

Orting – Hometown by Default

I’m never really sure what to say when people ask me where I’m from. The short answer is always, Orting, Washington. This answer used to get a couple of pauses and a brief, “awe, where is it located exactly?” Like I frequently do after receiving a puzzled look, let me give you my Orting pitch to help you understand this little town nestled arguably dangerously close to Mount Rainier.

Orting is a picturesque town in a lot of ways. As it was once described to me it’s an island of sorts which sits between two major rivers – the Puyallup and Carbon. Both flow down from Mount Rainier. On clear days the mountain will take your breath away with its scale and varying colors which change with the sun and weather conditions.

As a former rail stop between a few mining towns further east, Orting has a distinctive “downtown” core which spans a few blocks located near the old station. While no urban metropolis, it offers up a mix of amenities including a local drug store, library (my name is actually engraved on a clock located here), Mexican restaurant, and a few other small shops. The downtown is split in half by the City Park. When I was growing up the park was the place to be during Orting’s few city specific festivals such as Red Hat Day, Summer in the Park, and the yearly Daffodil Festival.

My favorite part of the town is the extensive bike trail which runs all the way from Puyallup to South Prairie. When my older brother and I became farm hands one summer on a local raspberry farm we used the trail to commute. In the early mornings after we were done picking berries my brother and I would race down the trail back home and then eventually to Blockbuster to rent video games.

Past the town parts of Orting the rail reaches back into the woods and runs adjacent to the Puyallup River for miles along an old railroad track. The calming nature of the woods is enough to make even the most stressed person relax.

And I can’t forget about the Lion’s Club field located just on the outskirts of town. It’s not much more than a giant patch of grass with a few lines setup for soccer but it’s an amazing place to be during the Fourth of July. The whole town usually comes out for the event and you start to ask yourself, “is this town really so small?”

While I spent my high school years in Orting it’s not my original home. Throughout childhood my family lived in many places along the Puget Sound including Seattle, Federal Way, and Kent. Orting was our final destination. While I often hate to admit it at times, wishing I was from somewhere “cooler,” more “cosmopolitan,” or “famous,” Orting is where I hang my hat and call home.

It’s the place I became a “track star,” my father achieved his dream of becoming a city councilmen, and my family established a name for itself. Like many things in this world, meaning is derived from context; for me that means where I’m from has varying degrees of complexity but the short of it is, I’m from Orting.

Diving Into The Deep End

After a year of stringing together a series of short term contracts, I’m happy to announce I recently signed a long term project with NetHope. As the organization’s core Marketing and Communications Specialist. I’ll be responsible for helping develop NetHope’s communications strategy, managing its digital properties, and planning the organization’s big member summit in the fall.

Like many of life’s adventures I’m terrified and excited for this new opportunity. It will allow me to work at the intersection of a number of issues I’m interested in and use my complete communicator tool box. All being said, the role will also force me to quickly acquire new skills and operate at my very best all the time. Being a solo communications shop as I’ve discussed with other friends is a double-edged sword in many ways. It presents endless opportunities to explore various projects without worrying about red tape but can quickly devolve into chaos if managed incorrectly.

Accepting this offer was difficult at first because it meant closing the door for now on a traditional and stable career path. Initially I found this idea very unsettling. The common question I frequently ask myself, “what’s next,” had no simple answer. Instead it’s filled with a lot of mystery and vagueness.

So with that I’ve made up my mind. I’m taking a step back from the ledge, jumping high in the air, and doing a cannon ball into the deep end of the independent pool. The best way to learn is by doing. A quote I recently stumbled upon on LinkedIn describes this idea best, “sometimes you have to build the plane on the way down.”

[Photo Courtesy of llstalteri]

Status Update – 4.19.14

Unexpectedly these last few weeks have been a little fast paced. I recently started a new contract role with NetHope, a nonprofit focused on increasing connectivity in the developing world and helping NGOs use technology smarter. At the same time a few volunteer projects came online. Juggling a few balls these days but I’m enjoying being fully active again. Hoping to share a longer post in the future about these changes.

Until then, below is a status update about what I’m currently working on.

###

I'm...

Reading:

The Happiness Project

Things Fall Apart

Watching:

RuPaul’s Drag Race 

One Piece

Naruto Shippuden
Blue Exorcist

Learning:
Core components of InDesign at the School of Visual Concepts
How to wake-up again with an analog alarm clock
Personal fitness tips
Adobe Illustrator

Dreaming about:
Working remotely in Barcelona
Visiting New York’s Highline Park
Exploring San Francisco’s Fillmore District
Taking a vacation where I can see the stars

Attending:
Easter Festivities with family and friends
5th Annual Institute for Democratic Future Trivia Night
Frozen viewing party
A weekend cruise to Vancouver, Canada

Working on:
My fiancé visa (yes, it’s still going on almost a year later… very long process)
Annual report content for the Delridge Neighborhood Association
Programing for the Greater Seattle Business Association’s (GSBA) Young Professionals with Pride (YPP) event 
LinkedIn updates for SVP Fast Pitch
Increasing my upper body strength
Proactively reengaging with my network
Getting back into a personal blogging rhythm
A longer blog post…

[Photo Courtesy of nomadic_lass]

Status Update – 2.9.14

First status update of the New Year! I’m…

Reading:
Animal Farm
New York Times (Daily)

Watching:
Space Dandy
Nurrutto Shupuden
One Piece
Archer
Chozen
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Playing:
Pokémon Y (second run)
Pikmin 3

Learning:
Search engine optimization (SEO) basics
Elements of content strategy and user experience (UX)
The difference between Squarespace and Wordpress

Attending:
Learn to Write Click-tastic Headlines
Spamalot

Thinking about:
New blog formats
The intersection of UX and communications
Best use case scenarios for Tumblr

Working on:
Social media support for Citizen University’s 2014 conference
A recap of Online First in 2014
Securing a new full-time opportunity
Refreshing www.joshuaholland.co
Final components of my fiancé’s visa
A longer blog post…

[Photo courtesy of Sune P]

Talking Transportation, Advice from Communication Professionals

Start talking transportation with people at a cocktail party or social gathering and you’ll likely see their eyes glaze over. As far as topics go, it’s one of the least sexy things you can bring up. While not the first topic on everyone’s mind, it’s a very important aspect of economic development and daily life.

Last week I sat in on the Seattle Chapter of Young Professionals in Transportation’s (YPT Seattle) first meeting of 2014. I was drawn to the event by a post I saw on the Seattle Transit Blog and the speaker panel which included Travis Phelps of WSDOT, Charla Skaggs of EnviroIssues and Mike Lindblom of the Seattle Times. The event was held at Enviroissues and focused on details of sharing transportation project information, how agencies provide information to media outlets, and the impact on the traveling public. The event shed some light on some of the complexities of communicating about transportation projects.

Below are a few notes from the event highlighting key takeaways.

Investment Cost

Most transportation projects involve some type of investment. To win over support it’s important to get buy in from both the public and private sector. The common question often asked is, “What does the investment yield?”

While not a simple answer, using info available from engineers and other technical folks communications professionals can paint a better picture of what the project will entail and explain potential risks involved. The more information available the better; it allows internal communications professionals to strongly advocate for the organization’s point of view to media and influencers.

Preparation is key to executing a successful communications strategy. Travis from WSDOT put it well saying you can only communicate what you know to stakeholders and media. WSDOT particularly prides itself in looking extensively at its projects before beginning construction and is focused on limiting the number of surprises which might occur. Before conducting outreach, it’s important to analyze your story for holes or potential issues.

Use Data with Care

There is no shortage of data these days. Thanks to wired devices and the widespread use of sensors, information about transportation projects is especially easy to collect and share. That being said, it’s important to use data correctly and provide proper context to prevent misinterpretation. This frequently happens with percentages. Mike from the Seattle Times mentioned many people don’t know how to use percentages correctly and when left to their own devices and agendas may use the information to construct stories which may not be 100% true.

To prevent information from being used incorrectly, Travis recommended considering how to display it and keeping in mind your audience. Display types can vary; options include infographs, detailed blog posts, videos, and other creative options. As far as audience is concerned, location matters. The Seattle area is particularly challenging to deal with when communicating highly technical information because of the region’s highly educated population.

A good example shared by Travis was the Skagit bridge collapse. He went on to say many people in the area actually know technical terms such as ‘fracture critical.’ To compensate WSDOT will generally share very detailed information because it knows the audience will likely be able to understand its complexity and many of the media outlets in the region will take the time to drill down into the data and explain the issue in depth.

Storytellers and Gatekeepers

It’s no secret; the media landscape has changed and continues to change. Most newsrooms are adjusting to cuts in staff and the method content is gathered and consumed by audiences. Mike illustrated this point best when he explained that many newsrooms are now generally outnumbered by internal communications folks.

The internal side isn’t immune to the shift either. While it’s now easier than ever to share your own content thanks to social media, influential sources still have a stake in how you’re story is told. In the Seattle media market this shift is particularly evident in print media. The city now only has one major newspaper and is host to a collection of other nontraditional outlets such as the Stranger, Crosscut, and Publicola to name just a few. While the variety is great for internal communications professionals, the function of new media sources isn’t always the same as traditional media outlets. For example, many nontraditional outlets such as the Stranger are often highly opinionated and don’t follow the “rules of journalism,”  i.e. embargos, fact checking, balanced reporting, etc.  That being said, great coverage can come out of outlets like the Stranger which has won a Pulitzer and is often the authority on stories such as the closing of the Orion Center.

There is no perfect coping mechanism for dealing with these changes. Instead, the panel seemed to agree it’s important to strike a balance. For media this means working closely with internal teams to gather the best information and for internal communication folks it’s about picking your outlets wisely – sometimes you can get burned or misinterpreted if you go with the wrong outlet.

Transportation Brands

Branding for transportation is a tricky subject. While it’s tempting to focus heavily on individual projects, it’s best to advocate for the agency as a whole. WSDOT recently experienced this with its deep bore tunnel project along Seattle’s waterfront. Shortly after the start of the project the agency frequently used the machine’s nickname, “Bertha” when referring to the project. Initially this generated interest from media outlets and people on social networks but when the project ran into trouble (literally) a few politicians and naysayers quickly latched on to the nickname and began to use it as a way to bash the project as a whole. Media also quickly stepped away from the cute factor and began to scrutinize it closer.

Mike closed out the discussion about transportation branding well. Stepping back from the Bertha issue, he advocated for viewing the WSDOT brand as an entire agency, not individual projects. He went on to say the agency’s brand is more about information and hyperawareness. This argument can be witnessed across Washington’s highway network. WSDOT provides a wealth of useful updates on the web, digital reader boards and social media (WSDOT’s Twitter account is incredibly helpful and does a good job at making traffic interesting – lots of well-timed jokes).

Closing Remarks 

Transportation may not be as sexy as iPhones or the latest celebrity gossip but it’s an important part of our daily lives. After all the products we use are shipped from somewhere and commutes are directly impacted by the quality of transportation infrastructure.

[Photos Courtesy of bruhsam, seattlemunicipalarchives, teegardin, camknows, wsdot]