“I could seriously stalk you.” This is a comment I often hear from my friends due to the fact that I really enjoy checking in on FourSquare. Not to mention, I LOVE getting deals when I check in (my favorite deal I received so far was 10 percent off my frozen yogurt at Berry Chill in Chicago). As social media continues to be a large presence in our lives- from 145 million people on Twitter to 500 million people on Facebook – and with a rising trend of location based check-ins, could social media replace print advertising? An interesting article in the Wall Street Journal outlines three things for businesses to do to develop relationships with their consumers via location based social media outlets like FourSquare and Facebook. 
I am sad to say that I was late in the game joining FourSquare, so I am not a mayor of any location yet; however, I do have my sights set on a coffee shop I frequent near my apartment. Would I go there more often if they offered a check-in reward? Absolutely. Even ten percent off a purchase is enough to give incentive. As I continue to go to this coffee shop, those ten percent off check-ins will begin to add up. This is one of the tips offered in the WSJ article by Riva Richmond. Richmond writes, “Even if you do nothing, people may discover you through location-based services.” Additionally, Richmond spoke to a business owner in California that claims his social media customers are more frequent than anyone bringing in his coupons offered in print advertising. Do more people pay attention to digital offers that what’s on paper these days?
As a rising college senior studying Public Health with a concentration in Women’s Health, I find myself researching a wide range of women’s health issues: sex education, HPV, cervical cancer, breast cancer, pregnancy, menopause, birth control and much more. In fact, I could probably discuss the HPV vaccine controversies in my sleep! I believe that educating women about their health is a form of women’s empowerment. So, when I set out to write my first blog post as an intern for Spectrum, I assumed it would be about one of the women’s health issues described above; however, this post is in honor of the opposite sex – men.