For many people this might look like some playground game, but in fact it’s the latest application to hit the social media world by storm.

Foursqaure, a new geotagging application available on iPhone, Blackberry and Web Browser, allows you and your friends to “Check in” at destinations across the globe in order to earn points and badges.
I have to admit, I was and still am pretty addicted to this, checking in every place I visit. Some of my friends have said it would be incredibly easy to stalk me, but I just thought “Who would want to stalk me?”

However the creators of Foursquare have come under criticism recently as apparently this fun application aids robbers in finding empty houses.

Obviously the owners replied straight away stating that there are a lot easier ways to see if anyone is home, the big one is if the lights are switched off.

So what do we think then? Are all these applications and games putting our security at risk or are they just a bit a fun?

I’m a big kid at heart so I think I’ll still be checking in on a regular basis.

1. How would you describe the creative/marketing sector in the Midlands at the moment and what trends are you spotting?

As Creative Director of a vibrant and fast moving firm/business/enterprise/consultancy (pick one), the one thing that I have noticed within the industry that is becoming very much the norm is collaboration. It was very much a trend before the backside of UK economy fell out that organisations would win new business, outsource to suppliers but make the supplier where their brand hat. ‘The times they are a changing’ and as an agency we have many affiliations and feel that it is better to work as a transparent collaboration in order to build trust for the client and add more value to the projects.

2. How does the local business infrastructure help business? Or otherwise?

Although we are national agency, we still have a collection of regional clients and suppliers. We pioneered a business movement called ‘buybirmingham’ which encourages business to keep things as local as possible, it works for us that’s for sure!

3. What excites you about business in the Midlands at the moment?

The Midlands’ has always had a good infrastructure and I have been known to say that it is just ‘One big village’. I think Midlanders as a whole get a rough ride publicly, but what really does excite me is how advanced we are in areas like Digital Connectivity and Social Media, which as we all know is a rapidly evolving communication technique that cannot be ignored.

4. What sectors are keeping you busiest at this particular time?

As a 360 degree agency and as previously mentioned we are delivering a lot of events within the city of Birmingham. We recently delivered the ‘Bodies Revealed’ exhibition at the Custard Factory, Birmingham and are about to launch the Interactive CSI Experience’ in the Bullring, Birmingham. At the same time we are still managing to service all our other design clients like RoSPA, Al Mustaqbal, West Midlands Police and San Carlo.

5. What have been your experiences of the recession so far?

As a person in charge of creative output and design integrity the recession has actually worked out in our favour. What the recession has managed to do is remove the lesser skilled agencies and left a higher calibre of service. This can only benefit the creative industry in the Midlands, especially as we all have our own new business agenda for outside the confines of our region.

6. What positives are you taking out of the current economic climate and is the UK/The Midlands recovering well?

Read answer 3 and 5 – a bit of an obtuse answer?!?!?!

7. What do you expect to be your and/or Birmingham’s biggest challenges over the next 3 years and how can you conquer them?

A locational challenge would be to stay on the pulse, we have had some bad news recently, with the area loosing big brands like Rover and now uncertainty of the future of a local treasure in ‘Cadbury’. How the area conquers this will be down to the correct investment and re-training. Innovative programmes are required similar to the one provided by Birmingham Business Link called the Innovation Advisory Service and Birmingham City Council’s Working Neighbourhood Fund.

My name is Joe, and I am the brand new Marketing Intern in the Big Cat office. I sit next to Dan, opposite to Jenny, and diagonally from Ben. My view out of the office window is of a canal and a few buildings. I regularly bring a sandwich and a bottle of water into work, along with an energy drink, depending how alert I am in the morning. I have lived in a small village for the entirety of my life, and despite enjoying being away from home and travelling, have never ventured far away for a lengthy spell. I would describe myself as a thinker, not in the conventional philosophical sense, but one who lets his mind run in a million different directions, which would explain the completely random observations and questions that will come your way when around me for more than an hour.

The obvious question that any interviewer, or anyone in general to whom I am chatting about my job, would ask is ‘Why Marketing?’ I would respond with another questions; ‘Why wouldn’t I want to be involved in marketing?’ Having only been at Big Cat for just over a week, I have made contacts from various companies, I am involved in a potentially very successful campaign, and have not had one moment of boredom in the office.

I’ll finish with a few words on life so far at the Big Cat Group. Despite being here just one week, I have felt it very easy to fit in to the office structure. For now it is more of a learning curve than anything, but I can only expect to gain the best of experience during my time here.

It’s almost every week that we are introduced to a new way to communicate with friends, upload pictures and note down our thoughts on the web, however its only a small handful of these which become a world phenomenon, many just get lost in the either. And although some may be seen as a success right now, give it a few months and there will be another platform banging on its door, ready to jump in its grave before the lid has even closed.

The latest “attempt” at social networking is Google Buzz, which in a nutshell is a cut down version of Facebook which runs directly from your Gmail account.
Obviously Google feel that their platform is the best as it links in with all of their other gadgets; Gmail, Wave, iGoogle the lot. Now I’m all for integration (starting to sound like Tracey Turnblad now) but is Buzz just another hair brained scheme from Google in an attempt to mononpolise another market?
They’re not content with their email, maps, and Android, instead they decide to invest in a £multi-billion market with a success rate of just 1%.

Their key plug for Buzz is that unlike Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, it needs no setting up, as long as you have contacts saved in your address book. If you’re anything like me though you won’t. I’ve used Gmail for a good 8 years now and I think I have about 3 contacts in there if that. All my personal contacts I save on my iPhone or on Outlook, both of which I feel are easier to access.

Personally I think rather than inventing new platforms, Google should be concentrating on bettering their current portfolio, especially things like Google Wave. As sad as it sounds I was really looking forward to Google Wave. I waited ages for an invite and when I finally received one I found I had no use for it.
It wasn’t until this week when I actually used Google Wave for what it was built for; online conferencing, and I have to say it worked rather well (for me anyway, other members of the call kept dropping out).

So what do we think? Will Google Buzz just be another fad; here today gone tomorrow, or has it gone far greater potential? I think give it 2 weeks and people won’t even know what it is.