Is Whrrl the New Secret Shopper?

2009 has been dubbed the year of social media. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging and Whrrl are ways people are telling stories about how they live their lives. You can follow someone and know where they are, who they are with and what they are doing. These forms of social media have not only changed the way we as human beings communicate, but has also paved the way companies are gathering information about you, the consumer and how they are building relationships with you.

The iPhone application Whrrl, which recently announced Whrrl v2.3, has taken mobile social media to the next level. The application allows you to leave a digital footstream by checking in to places you go, become a member of a "society" where you and others with your same social patterns can be a part of and share photos and notes which your friends can "like" in real time.

Not only is this great for your social life, but it is great for businesses trying to gain knowledge of your social patterns.


"Many of Collective Bias CPG clients are leveraging Location Based Services (LBS) like Whrrl to connect with their customers in the retail environment. This gives them a real world connection to the shopping experience and creates actionable opportunities for social media engagement."John Andrews, Collective Bias.

Examples of companies that have worked with and gained knowledge from consumers:
Colgate Wisp and Walgreens
Genesis Today and Walmart
Kroger
Hershey and Walmart
Pepperidge Farm and Walmart

There is no doubt that social media has taken our lives to a new social level allowing us to communicate to a larger audience and in many different forms. We are telling our life story now to hundreds, maybe thousands rather than to a handful of our close friends. We are becoming a generation that loves the prospect of sharing our life in hopes that it reaches out to someone and touches them.

Companies are gaining the information they need from our stories to make their products better, find out who their consumers are, see how their products are being presented and be more consumer friendly to the buyer. They are trying to better their businesses in an economy that is second guessing a purchase before it is made and relying on recommendations, price and quality when making a purchase.

So, in conclusion, whrrling, tweeting, blogging, youtubing and facebooking about the places you go, the products you purchase, the inconveniences you encounter or the joy a product has brought to your life is the best way we can communicate to companies about what we like and don't like, so that in the end, we ensure our lives are better and more enjoyable.