Who are You, Where are You?

This question includes social media and goes beyond social media too.

When I get a friend or follow type of request on Facebook, Twitter, 4 Square or any of the other social media channels I use, I don't auto-add, I want to know who these people are.

I check their profile, I want to know if they are local, what they do, why they want to connect and in some cases it is for classification purposes.

(Everyone I follow back on Twitter, goes on a list or two.)

So this morning I asked on Twitter:

ScLoHo Scott Howard

Should a company website include what city they are located in? Pros/Cons... What Do U Think?

Almost instantly I got some responses. Here are a few:

bodaciousgirl Heather ツ

Depends on the type of business.

tyler_allen Tyler Allen

absolutely. i like to know who i'm dealing w/, where they are (to judge shipping, etc) & to know they have a "home base" not to mention it shows pride in being local to their community.

jstalter Justin Stalter

I would say it depends on the industry and target market.

bethannbud Bethann Buddenbaum

Contact info should always be on a website. Is the question about the city being featured prominently? If so, depends on target.

patmcgraw patmcgraw

physical location means 'real' 4 many

jonathantullos
To me it makes sense to let people know where you are, especially of the co doesn't do e-commerce.

LAzuber Lauren Zuber

Yes. Not including location would look sketchy to me.

JeanBansemer Jean Bansemer

One con to consider is your city, state, or country's stereotype- especially if your audience is larger than the immediate area.

All of these are good answers. No one is right or wrong, except this one which pretty much sums it up:

ajuliano Anthony Juliano

This is always the answer: only if it's relevant to audience. Most of the time it will be, if only for contact info, but not always.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I want to know as much as possible about someone before I decided to connect with them. And as Anthony said, "if it's relevant to audience."

I am revealing information about myself on these social media channels. I am also deciding if I should follow back.

On my own home page, I give my direct phone number. Some folks warned me against that saying it was crazy, but I've challenged my own clients to forward their business lines to a cell phone for 24 hour emergency customer service. Rarely do I get weird calls and a few times I have been able to take care of a client because they could reach me on the weekend.

One more thought on the matter:

fredcannon Fred Cannon

I think if you're a brick and mortar business, yes. Internet based, less so-do I really care where amazon.com is physically located?

Thanks Fred, that was where I was beginning to go with my thinking too.

If giving a physical location is required to make a business real, then I have plenty of examples to prove that theory wrong which mirrors Fred's question.

Where is You Tube?

Where is Twitter?

Where is Google?

Where is 4 Square?

Where is Angies List?

(answers below)

Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

You Tube: 1000 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA, 94401 Twitter: 795 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

Google: 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043

4Square: Somewhere in New York City

Angies List: 1030 E. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46202