City retailers embark on a new marketing technique

It is interesting what retailers will do to get customers into their stores. Hey, if it works, so be it. The bottom line is profits. Whatever it takes to do that is what they need to focus on.

I didn't even know what foursquare was!!

@JenMac I had read about vaguely as a network to locate your friends and didnt bother with it but looks like its going to be pretty big if the retail trade is going to use it to use it for promotions and freebies. Must say I was tempted by the Ann Taylor offer since i do shop there a lot but I need to get myself a new phone/Blackberry to even attempt to start with four square sigh!

Wow, sounds like a lot of fun!

@uptowngirl Foursquare! I've been trying to remember the name of this stupid social network which is basically a brilliant marketing ploy. I've heard of bars giving discounts or free drinks to whoever is the "mayor" of their establishment...

@Everyone - Foursquare hasn't quite impressed me yet. I use FB and LJ like nobody's business, but I like "communities" - not just random social media apps. Same reason I'm not too keen on twitter

@NeverSleeps I believe you have to frequent a joint a lot to become the Mayor of that establishment. I do have my favorite joints in the city like Sandro's, Locanda Verde but I don't think I could go there more than once / twice a month ..I love going to new places all the time so I don't know if I will ever get 'Mayor' status for anywhere..to qualify for a discount/ freebie.. that's if I get on Foursquare at all.

@Ajadedidealist: I really don't use Twitter as much as I should. I heard that Twitter is improving. I do know I get a lot of job leads from Twitter on a daily basis.

@ajadeidealist You and me both, I'm not all that keen on Twitter, no matter how many gazillions of followers Ashton Kutcher has. In fact, BECAUSE of the gazillion of users Aston Kutcher has.

Why would I WANT everyone to know about my late night burger/fries/curry/thai food cravings?

@uptowngirl Yelp started making people the "duke" of establishments in an attempt to compete with the popularity of Foursquare, and - I guess because the whole checking-in thing hasn't really caught on with Yelp or the Park Slope crowd - you usually only need one or two check-ins to become the grand old duke of the place.

@NeverSleeps thanks for letting me in on the Duke thingie started by Yelp wasn't even aware of it though have to agree with ajadedidealist wouldnt want anyone to know of my late night cravings and more over dont want to see my friends all the time..

@Everyone As with all lame marketing phenoms, this too shall pass.

@Everybody: I understand the feelings around Twitter. In reality, it is supposed to be a social media site for posting your thoughts. It is also for marketing purposes. However, I think too many people are abusing it you ask me.

@uptowngirl I completely agree - not everyone needs to know what I am eating and where.

@DBlack Only to be replaced by yet another lame marketing phenom.

@Everyone let's watch this space...remember when Myspace was all the rage just yesterday I read a report on how its losing in popularity to Twitter and Facebook.

@Uptowngirl: Yes. In fact, at one point Rupert Murdoch was even thinking of selling MySpace, but he can't find a buyer.

I don't like myspace at all! The graphics are loud, intrusive, and tacky, and I hate all the add-ons! Facebook really is so much better designed. Of course, I remember the days of Sconex....

@ajadedidealist Sconex?? I am afraid that bypassed me..:) don't have a clue as to what that is

@Everybody Myspace has become totally lame. Why? They've added all these annoying features, like the one that basically is a copy of Twitter. Using it now is just so friggin' complicated, it would take me a week to figure out how to turn off most of the features. Sometimes less is more.

Facebook is in the news a lot lately about privacy issues and I sure am glad I've resisted the temptation to get an account.

@Everybody: I do have an account with MySpace but rarely use it. In fact, the only time I used it in the past was when I had direct contact with Lisa Marie Presley. But I have not heard from her in nearly 6 months. Rupert Murdoch wants to convert MySpace to an all advertising channel and sell ad space on it.

@Uraniumfish: Actually, Facebook has fixed their problems and are working better now. All their privacy issues have also been corrected. I have an account with Facebook and love it. Many of my writer friends also have an account with Facebook.

@Uraniumfish I never got into Myspace but I have accounts on Facebook and Twitter and use both extensively. find it much easier to keep in touch with people though these social media than plain old email..

@Uraniumfish I have limited the access on my Facebook account to only my friends and dont play any of the games or click on any Facebook links so I think I have protected my data somewhat

@uptowngirl Guess I was traumatized when I tried to make a facebook account and it pulled up all the email addresses of everyone I had corresponded with, ever. It just felt so invasive that they go into your email account and extract that kind of data automatically.

@Uraniumfish how did that happen? don't they ask you before they do that? I always say NO when that pops up and I hardly ever post pictures on my wall though I love looking at all the random pics my friends and their other friends put up.

@Uptowngirl and @BroadwayBK; The only picture I uploaded on Facebook was my profile picture. That was it.

@uptowngirl I think when you sign up now, they automatically try to get you to add everyone you know by linking to your email account, gmail or whatever. I say no to that, too - I don't need to be friends with every fool I have ever emailed.

@Uraniumfish I can totally understand your trauma.. I am currently being 'pursued' on Facebook by a woman who is a friend of a friend. She tracked me down and sent me a request last night, out of politeness I accepted it because I know we have common friends, this morning she was trying to get me to chat (aaargh which I ignored) and then she sends me a message asking me to meet her for a coffee! she is known to be pushy and trouble maker and I have no interest in being 'friends' with her.Bizarre to say the least .. I am hoping she will quietly disappear if I continue to rebuff her..:)

@Uraniumfish I think you may have just missed the box that you have to uncheck... And I do miss the Facebook days where you were required to have a college email in order to join. Back then there weren't a bunch of spammers and crazies all over the site.

@uptowngirl It's weird, when I was living in Los Angeles just about everyone I had ever talked to once in high school suddenly messaged me, wanting to know what I was doing there. Some even asked for details of my life leading up until that point. It's like, jeez, people - I don't even know you anymore! Can I please have some personal space? I find that people generally go away if you don't respond. And if you ever run into them in person you can always make the I'm-no-good-at-social-networking excuse!

Anyone planning on seeing that Facebook movie? That sounds like the more boring movie ever made.

@BroadwayBK Hah! And in my case it's really the truth, since I am no good at all at social networking.

@NeverSleeps I had to yawn just at the mention of it.

Zuckerberg went to my high school - and I'm still not interested...although if it's filmed there I might give it a look out of nostalgia

I have a feeling the Facebook movie is going to bomb.

@NeverSleeps such a dumb idea for a movie like the reality show for artists that DBlack mentioned.

@NeverSleeps @uptowngirl Yeh. Agree on both fronts - it's a dumb idea for a movie which is bound to bomb!

The show based on "****!@# my dad says" is looking pretty saggy, too:

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/advertisers-asked-to-flee-from-bleep--1457

Sigh, why don't they let some actually talented people into TV land and Hollywood to write us up some good stories?

@Uraniumfish maybe you should try your hand at writing for TV now...you seem least affected by social media and are more likely to come up with something new...

@uptowngirl I've thought that...if you think no one else is doing a good job, time to do the job yourself...

@Uraniumfish: When I finish my script, I'll get started writing for TV. This way there will be better shows on TV next year. :)

@Uptowngirl: Writing scripts, whether for the movies or TV, is no easy task. You have to know the format. Plus, you have to have a great imagination, and be open to severe criticism. I graduated from a screenwriting class earlier this year. In fact, I am still in a screenwriting class online, so I know a thing or two about it.

@hhusted Of course.

Returning tot he topic, here's an article about how foursquare type marketing techniques were supposed to be the next big thing but bombed instead:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Technology-Aside-Most-People-nytimes-1401922919.html?x=0&.v=1

@Uraniumfish That's kind of awesome. That Foursquare thing is so lame.

@NeverSleeps Apparently the entire world agrees with you.

@JenMac 30 Rock is fab!!!havent really got into Mad Man .. wish I had time to catch some TV

I get the Hollywood Reporter daily, and I read stories of producers and what they are currently working on. You'd be surprised what shows are in the works.

@uptowngirl: Mad Men is phenom. It really is.

@hhusted: anyone can just log onto the Futon Critic and see what shows are being ordered for the fall and mid-season replacement. Not very many surprises to me.

Well, TV has to fill in time slots. So the producers hire writers to create something interesting to watch, and they do. Hey, the writers get paid good money to write the stuff, so they don't care what is being written. At least some of them don't.

All of my copywriter friends are obsessed with Mad Men - I've also heard it described as a "soap opera for men," which seems pretty accurate to me. And I have to agree with Tina Fey, who called television the great American art form - there are always some pretty bad shows around, what with so many channels that have to fill time slots, but the good ones make up for everything!

@BroadwayBK 30 Rock is fantastic, I'm just recently discovering.

@Uraniumfish Yeah, you've been missing out. But I just discovered The Wire, if that makes you feel any better.

@BroadwayBk Aaaaaah! Great show. Whenever I hit on a great show, I end up watching all the episodes ever made, one by one, in order. I have an obsessive side, so there you go. I've see all of The Wire. I can't help it, but I'm currently doing the same with 30 Rock.

@Uraniumfish That's the proper way to watch shows with good scripts. 30 Rock is always making references to old jokes, so it is a better experience to watch them in order. I'm on the last season of The Wire, and then I'm going to start with Mad Men - I've only seen a few episodes of the first season. I'm going to miss The Wire, though. That McNulty...mmmm.

@Uraniumfish I caught my first episode of 30 Rock on a flight last week and I absolutely loved it .. I an suddenly in love with Alec Baldwin, oh he had me in It's complicated itself and Tina Fey is brilliant too.

@Uraniumfish Let's write one.

@uptowngirl I never loved Alec Baldwin until I saw him play Jack Donaghy!! Such a great character for him.

@BroadwayBK You're on!

@Jenmac - I agree. I love good TV - serialized drama is I believe a great art form. There is plenty of bad TV knocking around, but there are also plenty of bad movies; that doesn't negate the achievements of a Scorcese or a Selsnick.

Is anyone looking forward to that new HBO show, Boardwalk? My roommate works at Rose Water and she says Steve Buscemi goes in to eat once in a while, because they're filming the show somewhere in the Park Slope area at the moment.

@NeverSleeps I so miss my US TV shows.. I know you can watch them online on various sites I just havent had the time to do so ..life here is even faster than NYC if you can believe it.

I don't get to watch too much TV. I'm more into videos. But when I do watch it, I find ghost shows more entertaining than anything else.

@uptowngirl Sounds incredibly stressful!!! And accelerated life with no American television?! Sheesh.

@hhusted Where does one even find a video these days? Or by "video" do you mean DVD? ;)

I've just made my way through all of 30 Rock, and would like to move on to the next great show. For some reason I can't stomach Mad Men, so does anyone want to recommend my next obsession?

@Uraniumfish How do you feel about The Office? You may wanna check this out: http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-01-01/entertainment/17466305_1_ian-mcshane-deadwood-hbo

You know, I want to watch Mad Men - but I never made it past the first few episodes. Then I found The Wire, which has kept me pretty riveted. I think Mad Men didn't get me in the same way because - even though the ad dudes are pointedly behind the times and are completely unaware that the sixties are about to take them down and that's part of the premise of the show - it's too macho or something. All that testosterone was just kind of depressing.

I think a good script is pretty important for the ultimate success of a film, though. And sometimes television can be a director's medium, as well... This might sound ridiculous, but the choices made by the director of The Hills made that show really lovely to look at.

@NeverSleeps I love the British version of The Office -Ricky Gervais is hilarious.

@NeverSleeps @uptowngirl I could never get into the British version for some reason, but I adore the American Office. The over-the-top-ness of the Michael Scott character took a little getting used to, though.

I really love Mad Men, but my boyfriend (who usually likes "good tv") can't stand it, finding it poorly written and acted. I find both the writing and the acting generally spot-on, although I don't think it's the Best Thing Ever or anything like that. Opinions from the peanut gallery?

@jadeidealist I don't find anything especially wrong with Mad Men and the little I've seen was well written, but I guess the premise just gets on my nerves and I'm not particularly motivated to see more.

@ajadedidealist Have not seen Mad Men so really cannot comment.

@NeverSleeps the only American channel that I get her is E online and that is filled with episodes of Kimora (whoever watches that) and Keeping up with the Kardashians (brainless entertainment when you want to fall asleep)

@NeverSleeps: I mean Netflix videos. I have them. I decide what I want and it gets mailed to me.

@uptowngirl Ha... Why can't I stop watching Keeping up with the Kardashians? I can't figure it out.

@BroadwayBK Noooo not you too..maybe they are just easy on the eye?

I read many interesting posts regarding what is seen on TV. That is why writers create them to appeal to a wide range of audiences.

@Everyone the new show Broadwalk Empire seems to be getting a lot of Buzz on the internet boards.

@uptowngirl Looove and admire Steve Buschemi, one rat-faced but very talented actor. And I'm not so impressed by the Cult of the Beautiful on American TV and movies, so it's satisfying to see that an actor like Buschemi can eventually triumph and get great roles.

Who doesn't love Buschemi! I am one of those people really looking forward to what I hope is another hit from HBO.

Well Uraniumfish and Never Sleeps if the reviews are anything to go by Broadwalk Empire which starts tonight on HBO at 9pm is going to be a monster hit.

I have a weird, wrong, inappropriate crush on Steve Buscemi! Am I completely crazy, or are there others out there who find him strangely hot?

Ha - I do not find Steve Buscemi in any way attractive, but I have appreciated him in just about any role he's ever played. I'm sure he deserves the awesome acclaim he's getting for this new HBO show.

@ajadeidealist No, not hot. I think you're the only one who thinks so. But admirably talented!

The pilot episode of Boardwalk Empire was pretty amazing... I think the cries that it will outdo Mad Men at the Emmys are a bit premature, though.

The show sounds interesting. I don't watch HBO. It is a paying channel. My bill is high enough as it is. By the way, it isn't Broadwalk Empire, it is Boardwalk Empire. Based on the comments here, it sounds like a very interesting show.