We all worry about spoiler alerts while surfing the web or mobile devices before we’ve watched our favorite television shows, right? But lately, there’s been a lot of online chatter about a positive connection between our favorite TV shows and the online/social media world. Being avid TV watchers, ourselves, and with BuzzPlant actively participating in several movie/TV projects, we’ve had no choice but to keep our eye on the latest trends.

You can currently “check-in” to FourSquare and Facebook when visiting your favorite coffee shop, movie theater or church service. So, it makes sense to “check-in” while watching television shows and movies, reading books and listening to music too. It’s all about letting the world know how you are spending your time. Now with the use of GetGlue, a social network for entertainment, you can earn stickers, rather than FourSquare badges, by letting your friends and followers know what you like. Haven’t heard of it? Well, GetGlue has 2M users that checked-in over 100M times in 2011 and 75 major networks and 10 movie studios use GetGlue to promote their shows and movies to fans. I would say it’s a trend on the rise. CEO and founder Alex Iskold knew CES was the perfect venue this week for receiving Mashable’s Breakout Startup of the Year Award and announcing $12 million in financing.

With more than 150 million people using the free app, Shazam is also one of the leaders in connecting TV audiences with a “second screen.” Most users associate the app with “tagging” a song they want to identify on a TV show, radio or live event, but now they are taking it a few steps further. You can now “tag” a song during a participating television show and it will bring up exclusive content on your mobile device. Ranging from videos, photos/wallpapers to the direct iTunes link to buy the “tagged” song, the reception and feedback gathered from the Facebook Likes and Twitter posts has motivated the company to make an aggressive push to TV with a new $32 million investment.

Last night, VH1 jumped on the “second screen” bandwagon with the 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The feature aired live on their website and included up to four webcam feeds playing simultaneously powered by technology from Spreecast, a social video platform. By using social profiles, users asked questions and posted comments to the experts. The network recently launched a smartphone app, meant as a companion to it’s programming, called Co-Star,  available in iTunes. If all goes well, they will be utilizing this technology for more and more television events.

It will be interesting to see how this “second screen” technology continues to develop, and here at BuzzPlant, we are starting to integrate these outlets into our social media strategies and marketing plans. Are you more likely to watch a show if there is a “second screen” offering?

I’ve noticed  the number of Christmas cards I’ve received this year has declined. Have you? Now, I don’t think that I’ve become more unpopular or made enemies of all my card senders, so I’ve narrowed it down to a couple conclusions.

First being, the economy. Before I used to be really particular about my Christmas cards. Coming from a graphic design background, it had to be the perfect marriage between design and message. I was also the type that couldn’t narrow down my list. So, if I decided to send them, I had to send them to my whole address book, and boy that gets expensive! After buying the cards and the postage, I’ve basically payed for a really nice steak dinner with my husband.

Second conclusion is social media. Is this popular form of communication taken over our old holiday traditions? Back in the day, friends and family used to send long newsletters sharing details about their kids, jobs and other memorable events. Anyone else remember those? Does anyone even still do them? It would be a tucked inside a formal holiday card, signed sealed and delivered. With the use of Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs these days, we have a tendency to keep up with our close friends and family throughout the year. Heck, now more than ever, we keep up with those that were only a part of our high school graduating class! These online mediums allow us to consistently post the happenings in our lives without having to do a lot of work. Friendships either become closer or further apart, due to not having to put in real face or talk time. It’s quite a double-edged sword.

So, as the holiday season gets in full swing, we tend to change our personal profile pic to the best one in our tackiest Christmas sweater, or our babies crying in Santa’s lap, and figure a general wall post gets the job done. Cheap, quick and functional, right? Does it change the spirit of the holidays? It’s your call. I believe social media provides a place for people to post what their favorite Christmas songs are, show off pics of their Christmas trees and “check-in” at their holiday  parties. It’s all what you make it…what do you think? As a society, are we becoming lazy and cheap or are we just following a trend?

The latest trend in social media is letting everyone know exactly where you are…all the time. Facebook “Places,” FourSquare and GoWalla are just the few players in this arena. You simply use your mobile device when you are visiting a restaurant, theater, business or anything within your city to allow your friends know your location.

I have to admit, if it weren’t for my job working in social media, I probably wouldn’t have tried FourSquare.

Here are the reasons I was boycotting:
Reason #1 – I was already really bored with reading my friends updates simply stating “I’ve checked in at PF Changs…” Who cares? Why do I need to know that?!?!

Reason #2 – I had heard stories of burglaries happening because these types of updates allow everyone to know that (*hint, hint) YOU AREN’T HOME.

So, what changed my mind? Well, we had a client that was going to a vendor at a convention. We came up with a promotion utilizing FourSquare and it’s check-in ability at their booth. If I was going to try to encourage our clients to use this new trend in promotions, then I might as well check it out, right?

All I have to say is that FourSquare had me hooked when I scored my first Mayorship! Okay, let me explain. The GPS component on your iPhone, Blackberry or Droid helps keep track of all your “check-in’s” and sends the info back to FourSquare awarding points. You can become Mayor by simply visiting a location more times than anyone from within the Foursquare community. If you are lucky, you might find a business that is rewarding their “Mayor” with special discounts or freebies in return for basically admitting online you are a regular customer.

But you don’t have to be the Mayor to reap the rewards of “checking-in.” Some businesses simply reward their customers with discounts and promotions, as well. I scored a 1/2 price piece of cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory with just a few clicks on my iPhone. Enough said.

I’d have to say that I was pretty amazed at how many points I could rack up in one week. I used to think I didn’t really go anywhere, but my check-in’s prove otherwise. The competition between my FourSquare friends is also compelling to me. The fact that your points reset on Sunday evenings revives that competitive streak each week, so don’t be discouraged if you fall behind.

I have to admit, I do keep my reasons for boycotting in mind as I use the program and here’s a few suggestions for you. When you check-in, make sure you set up a tweet saying something interesting about the place you are at or about the friends/colleagues you are with. Don’t just simply state you are there. And as for the burglaries…lock the doors, set your alarm and make sure the people who are going to see your updates are people you actually trust.

We, as moms, play dress up with our kids everyday, but instead of the child wearing the superhero uniform, we, as moms, wear an invisible cape everyday. Changing diapers, feedings, laundry, grocery store trips and helping with homework, it’s amazing if we find a minute to ourselves. WhyMomsRule.com recently had a post citing some references to a recent post about “reinforcing the importance of women in social media.” I must say I agree that we are clearly the main demographic on social media avenues such as Facebook and Twitter these days, especially if you own an iPhone.

As previously stated, our time is consumed elsewhere. As we are sitting in the school pick up line, the pediatrician’s office or even the line at the grocery store, we can simply log-in and catch up with friend. We can even post how crazy our kids are making us or update the world that you are making a brief appearance to the outside world, not in pajama’s, but on a date with your loving husband.

Other than updating the world that you are pulling your hair out, since becoming a mom I’ve noticed more tweets/status updates asking for advice ranging from homeschool advice, health, or play date opportunities. Once I had a personal question about my child’s health and left phone messages for my closest friends, including the pediatric nurse at the doc’s office. I got online when I couldn’t get a hold of anyone and posed my question to the ladies of Facebook. You guessed right, quick turnaround!

Another quick mention from the WhyMomsRule.com blog is that women take on the role as consumer, connector and decision maker for most family purchases. Now, granted the men like to be in on the larger purchases ie: cars and electronics, but for the everyday stuff, women for the most part picked out that dish your eating off of, that brand of iced tea your drinking, or the laundry detergent that cleaned the shirt you are wearing. In this currently economy, saving is a necessity and ladies that coupon are the latest trend. Many restaurants, coffee shops, and consumer brands offer discounts or free product if you “like” their Facebook page. There are even apps for the iPhone that let you scan in bar codes to find the best deal.

Is this just more proof that the “iPhone Mom” is taking the place of the “Soccer Mom?”