With the World Cup, U.S. Open, Comic-Con, SXSW and countless other events and brands developing promotions with location services, we’re calling 2010 the “Year of the Check-in.”  From iPad, to Blackberry, to Droid, and everything in between, we’re more connected to our friends and neighborhoods than ever before. If you’re having a hard time determining which geolocation app is for you, below is our cheat sheet to finding the best downloads for deals, badges, pins and even finding a new TV show.

FourSquare
Easily seen as the leader in location apps, FourSquare’s more than two million users have helped skyrocket this startup into application super stardom. Encouraged by the opportunity to win badges by checking in multiple times at designated locations, as well as by area specials offered by local businesses, FourSquare focuses on building community and encouraging repeat business. Though the app encourages checking in to earn points throughout the day, partnerships with media giants like the New York Times, Bravo, and CNN have overshadowed the original purpose of participating in a game to earn points against other users .

GoWalla
Though GoWalla’s network is small at fewer than 500,000 users, this app has become a heavy hitter in the world of geolocation partnerships and promotions, working with brands such as Nike and Paul Frank. Users can check in, create a network of friends, share tips and earn pins to add to their GoWalla virtual passport. Once embraced mostly by California iPhone users, as of July, this app is now available on Blackberry and is increasing its reach beyond the West Coast.

Loopt
The original geolocation service for mobile devices, Loopt now boasts 4 million users since its launch in 2005. With variants like LooptPulse and LooptMix, the application allows users not only to track and contact friends, but almost recommend venues and locations, and even meet new friends. Rather than earning pins or badges, the new LooptStar now integrates brand rewards in the form of discounts and free music.

Others to watch:
MyTown
With more than 2.5 million users, this app for iPhone and Facebook is a combination of FourSquare and Farmville, creating a Monopoly-esque game where along with check-ins, players purchase property and collect rent.

GoMiso
With only 12,000 users, this app for iPhone may have a small network, but also has the most potential. Not limited to larger urban areas, GoMiso is the check-in game for TV lovers. Currently running a large Tour de France promotion, GoMiso allows users to check in to TV, films, and web series, and earn badges along the way. User numbers may be small, but there are already promotions with TNT, FOX, and Digg.

Google Latitude
http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html
Similar to Loopt, Google Latitude may not be one of the most talked about apps, but as with all things Google, the numbers are impressive. More than 3 million users use the online and mobile app (which runs through Google Maps) to track and contact their friends, thanks to integration with GTalk.

More Resources:
ReadWriteWeb

Mashable

GeekSugar

Seeing as this is a blog, it’s only appropriate to address one of my personal favorite subjects: fashion blogs … and the bloggers behind them! After the workday when many others I know are comfortably nestled in front of their televisions, I entrench myself in the fashion blogosphere. I find it fascinating to see how young men and women around the world interpret the latest trends—and how some defy them completely. And I know I’m not the only one; the fashion world has begun to notice these everyday people with a stellar sense of style.

What used to be a digital niche has spilled over into the mainstream world. Fashion bloggers have risen from obscurity to find themselves front row at Fashion Week, gallivanting around the world at the request of designers, and lending their creative hands to major brands. Simply by taking pictures of their outfits and posting them online! Who knew such a simple task could have such a profound effect?

The examples are numerous, but I’ll call out a few here. First, take Jane Aldridge from Sea of Shoes: the teen fashion prodigy was featured on larger-than-life superstar Kanye West’s blog. Why? He liked her style. Karla Deras of Karla’s Closet, along with three other bloggers, was recently tapped by Coach to co-design a limited edition handbag collection dubbed ‘Coach Collectibles.’ SoCal blogger Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast was invited to New York City for the opening of Forever 21’s massive Times Square store. Not only that, Neely starred in a photo shoot for the brand, shots of which were emblazoned on a massive billboard in the tourist haven. (Neely has also dabbled in collaborations; she starred in and released a line with Southern California clothier RVCA.)

The evolution of the Internet, and thus the blogosphere, has created a phenomenon that five years ago would seem unfathomable. While major fashion cities (New York, Milan, Paris) still attract the uber-stylish and powerhouse brands, the blogosphere has created invaluable opportunities for individuals like Aldridge (based in Texas) and Neely (San Diego) that are outside these cities. Bloggers such as Neely and Deras have been catapulted to a certain level of stardom—while the mainstream American public may not know them (yet), their inherent sense of style indicates their presence in the fashion world is has only just begun.

Turner PR is looking for a high energy, emerging media professional for its Denver headquarters. This position reports to the Director of Emerging Media, and includes work on both travel, fashion, outdoor brand clients.

The ideal candidate has the following qualifications:

• A personal passion for emerging forms of communication; a hybrid of techie and creative minds. The perfect candidate is constantly learning about new technology, ideas, trends, and tools. An early-adapter who asks a lot of questions.
• Hands-on experience with social media tools, both in community building and in targeted campaigns, including blogs, twitter, social networks, podcasts, etc.
• 2 – 5 years experience; has managed multiple agency accounts; an organized individual with great client service skills.
• Has supervised administrative or intern staffers
• Knows how to build and analyze social media reports.
• An understanding of the ethical rules and best practices presented in emerging media. The ability to articulate these guidelines to fellow staffers and clients when necessary.
• The ability to integrate new media tools into a multi-outlet campaign with the goal of strategically reaching a target audience.
• With guidance, the ability to educate / train staff members and clients on new media.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills (written and oral).
• Is self-motivated, creative, brings new ideas to the table.
• Is detail-oriented and energetic.

Additionally, special weight will be given to candidates with these skills:

• 1-2 years of experience working in traditional public relations i.e. writing press releases, media relations experience, crafting pitches, etc.
• Relevant tech skills, such as HTML, advanced photoshop, etc
• Experience in the travel industry, or with fashion/outdoor brands

Email resumes and salary history to Angela Berardino at angela@turnerpr.com.  No phone calls, please.

Last Friday, I spoke about “Social Media in the Travel Industry” at the Governor’s 2009 Colorado Tourism Conference in Pueblo, Colo. And I found myself scheduled a day after the crowd saw a great session by Eric Elkins of Widefoc.us, who covered many of the same topics I usually touch on.

So in the interest of mixing it up, I indulged in the time-honored tradition of Top Ten lists and created my own – specifically on the 10 topics the travel industry should be paying attention to as they plan for 2010 budgets and strategy. I’m including a link to the full presentation at the bottom of the post, but in short, my pick of hot topics:

1. Online brand management: claiming your brand name everywhere possible, even if you can’t or won’t use it in the short term.
2. Setting up (and budgeting for) a monitoring service. Although I touched on both paid and unpaid options, I feel this is one area where it makes sense to budget for rather than trying to cobble together “free” services that ultimately demand many, many employee hours to manage.
3. Building tracking into social media campaigns, from URL tracking to channel-specific offers.
4. Systematically handling online reviews, on par with all of the customer feedback channels the travel industry has been so diligent about creating over the last decade. For example, the check-stuffer report cards, the post-stay emails, the phone surveys….those are great, but can’t be done at the expense of ignoring more public reviews on TripAdvisor and other third-party sites.
5. Managing online business listings, such as Yelp and Google Maps, with current content, images and links
6. Integration of social media into email and websites
7. A growing use of multimedia content. Travel blogs are great, and I read a lot of them, but I’m looking forward to seeing more integrated audio/video/map content.
8. The impact of mobile usage in all forms of digital communication
9. Geo-tagged content, which is increasingly being combined with mobile devices
10. The use of technology partnerships to expand budgets and reach

Looking for the whole presentation? You can find it here

The Turner PR Denver team attended a luncheon yesterday about “The Digital Future of Travel Media:  Print, Online & Bloggers.”  Hosted by PRSA Colorado and PRSA Travel & Tourism, the lunch featured a panel of leading experts on digital travel content, who discussed issues surrounding travel media including:  the type of content that is surviving these days and the trends we can expect in 2010.

Overall, the tone was exceedingly positive and a wide variety of perspectives were provided, as each media attendee represented a very different area of the industry.

The media panel included:

• Kyle Wagner – travel editor of the Denver Post; an active blogger, tweeter and foodie.
• Lois Friedland – a freelance journalist, and editor of national and regional magazines and newspapers.  Friedland is also About.com’s adventure travel guide, and the Colorado Ski Resort Examiner for Examiner.com.
• Tim Shisler – a published writer, videographer, photographer, speaker and founder of Plus Ten Media, a digital content agency for outdoor and travel brands. Shisler’s work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Backpacker, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. (www.timshisler.com)
• Jason Hussong – an independent blogger who narrates stories about his travels around Colorado and the world at www.jasons-travels.com.
• Kara Williams – an award-winning freelance journalist with more than 18 years of national and regional print experience. She also is a founding member of both the successful www.travelingmamas.com and TheVacationGals.com.
• Kris Wagner – the map editor for Backpacker, Bicycling, and Mountain Bike magazines. His work in interactive media, GPS, and maps has garnered more than 20 web and publishing awards, including three national magazine awards. His research on the limited lifespan of digital gadgets was also published in Wired magazine.

Here are some of the key learnings:

• Travel trends we will see in 2010:  experiential travel, luxury travel deals/specials, volunteer travel, organized tours.
• As the media industry continues to evolve and print content decreases, the digital arena is becoming increasingly significant.  That doesn’t mean that print is totally dead (as some people love to claim),  it simply means that you shouldn’t ignore the digital world.
• Along with sending journalists a pitch from which they’d lift copy for a print outlet, send them a 40-character or less phrase that they can lift and use as a Twitter message to promote your story.
• Travel coverage may get more regionalized as local papers have fewer resources for national/international stories, and readers continue to take more driveable trips.  To this end, the future of print newspapers will be led by the larger, national dailies, with regional bureaus providing them with local news feeds.
• Travel content is more fluid than ever, and we’re seeing an evolution in formats. Audio slideshows, geo-coded maps and video are being used as regular parts of travel features.
• Not surprisingly, Twitter should be used to engage in a conversation with journalists and build a relationship, not just to push your ideas and pitches on them.