Welcome

It started out as a social media conference, an idea promoted by Laramie County Community College. After that half-day event in October 2009, Anya Petersen-Frey and Juliette Rule got an even better idea: SocialWyo the conference was a great chat about social media as a business application in Wyoming, but shouldn't someone keep that conversation going? SocialWyo.com, the community, was born.

Months and many more brainstorming sessions later, SocialWyo.com has gone live. In that time, many more Wyoming-based businesses have begun experimenting with social media, retooling their marketing plans to include a different kind of conversation with their clients and customers.

SocialWyo.com might well be considered a gateway. It's the place for anyone to learn more about social media sites and tools. It is the place for Wyoming business leaders to connect with each other, even tell us what we can do to promote that conversation and help you empower your business to be a part of the conversation.

If you're here, you know probably know the basics of Facebook and MySpace. (Don't worry if you don't. We talk about all that stuff, and in ways useful to every user.) There's a lot more to social media in business than those sites, famed for fanning the flames of social networking with everyone from high school to Hollywood.

Foursquare is gaining in popularity in Wyoming. Last year, a drive around the state found zero opportunities to "check-in" to a business, announce it to friends, and be declared mayor of that place. This year, it's a much different picture. It's clear that foursquare is something the hipsters are paying attention to.

It works like this: acquire points by checking into businesses and places (like parks or even someone's house) using your mobile device. Acquire enough check ins and points, and you're declared mayor. Soon enough, you'll be booted out of the mayoral seat, but in the meantime, you're collecting points and unlocking badges. What does it all mean? What do all those points get you? No one, including the foursquare developers know for sure. (Seriously. They don't.)

Here's what it means to you as a business owner: By making sure your business is on foursquare (it's easy, just create an account and input your businesses name and information), you can promote a conversation about your business, monitoring the tips section to find out what people like (and don't like) about your service, product or overall experience. You can promote stops at your business by offering "Mayor Specials," like buy one get one free or 15 percent off or free small coffee with purchase of same. Your staff will know the foursquare mayor because the mayor will introduce him/herself. Checking i.d. is easy: Staff might know the mayor (who probably is a regular) and they can check foursquare. (To qualify for mayor, you have to have a mug shot associated with your foursquare account.)

Here's what it means to you, a consumer: Aside from being just plain fun and being able to cash in on the deals, you get to tell everyone in your network what you like about a business. It's a nice way to say thanks, we think.