SCVNGR Emerges as Latest “Groundbreaking” Social Media Marketing Platform

At a local networking group that meets every other Wednesday I give a social media marketing and SEO update.  I quickly found that people aren’t nearly as interested in the inner workings of search algos than they are with the latest social media gossip.

Most people in our group seem to have moved past their skepticism, which was a shared connection at first, especially among our more seasoned members.  It helped that a few younger professionals reported making sales using Social Media. One professional in particular — a home remodeler — reported that he has sold remodeling projects on Facebook, which seems to be a favorite mode of communication for curious or aspiring moms.

So every other week I give an update (two weeks ago was Apple Ping and Google Instant), and normally at least half the group shakes their heads, except for a woman who is just starting her own raised garden bed company.  Not from skepticism, but from the light speed at which social media moves, and the rate of which a well-funded start-up or established tech company launches a new, “groundbreaking” application.

At our meeting Wednesday, I’m planning to talk about SCVNGR, a game-based geo-location application that may uproot and usurp Foursquare.  SCVGNR’s founder, a 21 year old dude named Seth Priebatsch, was quoted in the New York Times recently saying that SCVNGR is his attempt to create the “Game Layer on Top of the World.”

Trust me, it makes sense when you read the article.  But when I first heard it, I shook my head, much like my group members will when I introduce them to SCVNGR on Wednesday.