Remember the days when we were perfectly fine not knowing where everyone was all the time. When we could just go through our day completely unaware that our best friend was picking up a sandwich from Subway. Well, the world is not what it used to be.

With the increased popularity of applications such as FourSquare, sites such as Yelp, and services such as Yodle, we are constantly being connected to the people and places around us, even if we are unaware of it happening. In the last 3 months, I have noticed a drastic increase in the use of Foursquare. People declaring their “mayor”-hood of the coffee shop around the corner or their favorite burger joint. Being a Foursquare mayor basically means going to a place and telling people the most.

So what does this mean for social media? It means that people are starting to think of these tools as a way to connect to their local community instead of the global community. The trend seems to be piggy-backing on the larger “think globally, act locally” mantra. The tools we are using are global, but the way we are using them is connecting us more to our direct communities. Although social media can still be used to keep in contact with people around the world, it is having a bigger impact on those places and people closest to us.

We can find an area restaurant since their SEO has been “upped” by Yodle, go there cause we read glowing reviews on Yelp, and then Foursquare that we are there. Has there ever been a time when your community has been more accessible?

However, although I do love late night Chinese food…am unsure if I want the world to know I could be “mayor” of the New Hong Kong.

Last 5 posts by Social Gal

• 2-Times in a Row! CGI awarded Banker and Tradesman’s Award for Web Design - August 31st, 2010
• The 14th Annual Webby Awards!! - April 27th, 2010
• Twitter Lists and Businesses - November 23rd, 2009
• The "Best Ad" - November 19th, 2009
• iPhone Sketch - Changing the way we look at Art? - November 17th, 2009