Excuse us for being a little skeptical about the relevance of Facebook‘s new “Graph Search” function, presented to reporters yesterday by the company’s communications staffers on demo stations that New York Magazine’s Kevin Roose calls “PR Borgs.”

Seriously, though: Why would we want to search for “pictures that my friends took in Canada” or “dentists’ offices where my friends have checked in” or “single women in Park Slope who know one of my friends and like Game of Thrones“? (OK, that last one might make sense if we were still single.)

The more we think about it, though, we feel like graph search–which really needs a new name, BTW–could infringe upon the territory of other social networks, primarily LinkedIn, Foursquare, Yelp, dating sites like Match.com and the big one…Google.

What does this mean for the PR world?

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With the media echo chamber focusing on the same top tier tech companies, startups have a harder time getting noticed. But at least now your client’s company doesn’t have to be from Silicon Valley to gain media traction. New York’s own Silicon Alley has attracted increased attention from tech reporters, due in part to the success of startups such as foursquare and Fab.com. As Devindra Hardawar, national editor for VentureBeat, said, “Now what’s happening in New York has become fascinating.”

Hardawar appeared on a panel at a PCNY event on Tuesday that also included NYC-based editors and reporters covering the tech and startups beat from GigaOM, Mashable, Business Insider and WNYC’s New Tech City morning radio show. The event was a follow-up to a June PCNY panel centered on mobile–and this time the topic was breaking through in the complex tech and startups space.

Recent stories the panelists wrote or produced should give PR pros some hints about the angles that hook them. Ki Mae Heussner, staff writer for GigaOM, focused on content hackathons as the future of textbooks. Alyson Shontell, an SAI editor for Business Insider, wrote about the size of startup companies’ user bases and whether ten million is the new one million when it comes to users. WNYC’s New Tech City radio host Manoush Zomorodi produced a segment featuring reporters learning to code. As Zomoradi observed, “their visits to different code training venues added texture and flavor” to reflect the reporters’ experiences.

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We’d like to follow up on a question posed by multiple blogs today: which big tech/social media/search engine provider developed the best election-themed “campaign?”

• Was it the Google/YouTube election page, complete with live results, surveys, insights and voter info?
• Was it Twitter’s not-all-that-special #election2012 page?
• Was it Facebook’s American politics page and Polling Location Search Tool app?
• Was it Foursquare’s “I Voted” map, complete with “limited edition badges”?
• Was it tumblr’s official election feed?
• Was it Bing’s live official election page or “Destination 2012: The Ticket” from Yahoo! News? (Ha ha, just kidding.)

Seems like everyone got in on the game. What do you think? Did we miss anybody?

In yet another example of “All the News That’s Fit to Print”, The New York Times ran a somewhat unexpected story yesterday on the trials and tribulations of running a successful college bar in the social media age. According to the Times, bar owners in the party-friendly college town of Ithaca, New York recently got desperate enough to hold a joint strategy session: How could they get more college students to frequent their dives?

We always felt like social media was perfect for nightlife promotion purposes. Turns out that foursquare and other networking tools have made the young folk pickier when it comes to drinking and socializing. They also seem to have become more frugal with their pocket change—or at least more interested in efficiency when it comes to alcohol consumption. One subject in the article explains that “I drink liquor because it takes too long to drink beer.”

OK then! Social media has also made the process of organizing house parties easier, so students no longer have to trek to the local watering hole to meet their peers—and they don’t have to pay bar prices for drinks or worry about carrying fake IDs either. On any given night, they can immediately find out where the parties are and get a fairly good idea of who is in attendance.

We see how this might be a problem. So how have business owners responded?

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A merger between two international PR networks –ECP Global Communications and IPAN (International Public Relations Agency Network) — has resulted in a new group, the PR World Alliance (PRWA). PRWA has 17 members (all independent firms) across 13 countries in North America and Europe with partners across Asia, Africa, and South America. Peter Stanton, CEO of Stanton Communications, is chair of the new organization. Additional info about members and offerings available here.

Foursquare is looking for a new PR director to head up business- and tech-focused PR efforts, PRWeek reports. Last month, Foursquare had a gaggle of news, including the exit of its VP of business development, Tristan Walker. M Booth was named its consumer PR firm in February.

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So many things are happening at Foursquare. On Foursquare Day, April 16, the company announced that it had reached 20 million users and two billion check-ins. Since then there have been plenty of developments:

• The company has introduced an instant verification system that’s online and only $10.
• There are plans for an ad platform that will launch next month. Foursquare is seeking brands to partner with.
• Tristan Walker, the VP of business development, is leaving for Andreessen Horowitz as an “Entrepreneur in Residence.” He made the announcement on his blog. Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai announced in March that he would remain on the company board, but was otherwise stepping down from the company.
• Foursquare has partnered with OpenTable. Now, when you find a place on Foursquare, you can go ahead and make a reservation too.

Consider yourself updated.

Naveen Selvadurai, co-founder of Foursquare, announced in a blog post this weekend that he will be leaving the company, sticking around only as an adviser and on the company board.

Also this week, the company announced a partnership with TIME for the 2012 Republican and Democratic conventions. The company also has new partnerships with VH1 and Walgreens. And just today, the company said it will be launching a “new function” as this year’s SXSW conference and partnering with a number of concerts that are taking place.

When a company leader leaves, it’s a big deal. Here, Selvadurai seems to be heading out without making too many ripples in the pool. These partnerships indicate that business is continuing, more or less, as usual even if there were some festering behind-the-scenes frustrations.

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“Location, location, location” have long been known as the three things that matter in property. A keynote speaker at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Digital Marketing Strategy conference (HSMAI) on Tuesday also talked about how important it can be for marketing.

Asif Khan, the Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA) founder and president, defined location marketing as “the integration of people, places, and media,” and explained that it’s more than check-ins, the latest deals, and Foursquare. He also pointed out that location-based marketing takes being at home into account, takes place on more than mobile devices, and is equally popular now with both genders.

Click through for major takeaways.

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Location-based social network Foursquare has chosen M Booth for consumer PR work. Reports say the firm was selected after a competitive pitch and the account value is in the six figures.

Details about the scope of the work aren’t immediately forthcoming — both Foursquare’s Erin Gleason and M Booth aren’t offering up comment — but it’s understood to include media relations, messaging, and consumer education. Foursquare cut ties with Kaplow back in October, one year after the firm was hired.

[via PRWeek, Holmes Report]

New Year’s is a time for revelry, reflection, and making resolutions, both personal and work-related. PsychCentral blog says about forty to forty-five percent of American adults make at least one New Year’s resolution. USA.gov, America’s official Web portal, lists the most popular categories of New Year’s resolutions. Among the top ten, though not in rank order, are getting a better job, a better education, volunteering, money management, eating healthier, stopping bad habits, managing stress, getting fit, recycling, and taking a trip.

While many people set their sights high, far fewer follow through on their lofty plans. The Psychology Today blog cites research that shows after six months fewer than half the resolvers  have kept their New Year’s commitments and after a year less than ten percent have done so. According to the experts, one of the keys to achieving one’s New Year’s goals is sharing them with family and friends. New social platforms may help provide the answer to reaching your New Year’s resolutions in the coming 12 months.

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