…it’s not merely a business mantra, it’s the latest social media trend.

In the May issue of Her Nashville magazine, you’ll find a brief tutorial on location-based social networks Gowalla and Foursquare, which utilize GPS and those fancy smartphones to allow you to “check in” to places you visit, tell folks where you are, and post your thoughts along the way. Here’s a teaser and–of course–a little “surf with caution” reminder:

Both Gowalla and Foursquare give you the option to share your check ins and travels via Facebook and Twitter. I don’t do this, but you may want to. How much info you share and who your “friends” are is all yours to control. For these location-based networks — unlike Twitter, which is designed for stranger-to-stranger info sharing — I only friend my actual friends, but I’m sort of protective like that … with who knows my whereabouts at any given time.

Like most technological wonders, what the Gowalla and Foursquare creators conceived now makes up only a fraction of what they actually do. Just think about Twitter as geeks knew it in 2007 compared to Twitter as the world knows it today. What started out as an odd text messaging service known to a few thousand people is now a global, real-time, information-sharing phenomenon. READ THE FULL COLUMN!

I usually base my Chic Geek columns on reader questions, ideas from co-workers and/or brainstorming sessions with my husband, but no one has really asked me to write about location. In fact, no one outside of my geek friends ever mentions location-based apps, which makes me think it’s time I wrote about them. Read More…

I’ve often wondered how one goes about creating a LinkedIn group. The other day, I found out by starting one for DC Flacks. Now, if someone at work asks me about the pros/cons/ins/outs of this particular tool, I’ll be able to speak with some authority because I’ve actually done it.

Some goes for the social media consulting I do on the strategic use of blogs, Twitter, PitchEngine, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp, etc. I know how to do these things well because I’ve used them for myself and continue to explore their uses.

It’s the story of Team Newman‘s life, really. Dave and I play around on the Internet and try out new things. The stuff we try personally often ends up benefiting the folks who hire us. It’s not that we magically know geekery, it’s that we get a lot of practice. Read More…