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"Alanna Francis is a SEO Specialist and Grammar Enthusiast at the website design company Blue Fountain Media, where she specializes in e-commerce marketing. She writes for the company's web design and SEO trends blog and you can follow her on Twitter @AlannaFrancis.\nWe\u2019re thrilled that the Associated Press has recently released an updated set of style rules specifically tailored to web and social media terms. But given how quickly new sites and their accompanying terms gain popularity, it can be difficult to keep up. Such is the case for geolocation services like Facebook Places, Foursquare, Gowalla, and Brightkite.\nGeolocation services allow users to keep friends and followers posted on where they are at all times. We have a specific phrase to describe this action. However, said phrase raises some grammatical quandaries for social media grammar geeks such as myself. You might be familiar with this phrase by now, and it is more than likely that you have seen it represented a few different ways.\nCheck in? Checkin? Checked-in? Check-ed in?\nYou've probably seen all of these written one place or another, but which one is right? Is it two words or one? The answer is simple:\nThere are two forms of this phrase. One is a verb, the other a noun. \u201CCheckin\u201D is a noun. When used as such, the two words should be hyphenated:\nEx. \u201CI have the most check-ins at Blue Fountain Media. Does that mean I\u2019m the Mayor?!\"\n\u201CCheck in\u201D is a verb, and the two words should remain separate and unhyphenated:\n\nEx. \u201CI check in on Foursquare everywhere I go.\u201D \nEx. \u201CI checked in with Facebook Places for the first time today\u201D \nEx. \u201CChecking in must be really annoying if you don\u2019t have a smartphone. How does anyone live like that?!\u201D\n\n \"In to\" or \"Into\"?\n\n\n\n\nNow that we\u2019ve settled the issue of checkin vs. check in, it\u2019s time to move on to the advanced portion of this lesson. You know to say, \u201CDid Foursquare count my most recent checkin?\u201D but what about when you want to specify the place where you have just checked in?  Would you say \u201Cchecked in to\u201D or \u201Cchecked into?\u201D\nThe distinction between \u201Cinto\u201D and \u201Cin to\u201D is confusing for most people, not only in this particular context but in everyday grammar usage as well. Because in speech there is little audible difference between saying \u201Cinto\u201D and \u201Cin to,\u201D most of us never bothered to learn how to use each one properly. There were many more important things to do in ninth grade English class than pay attention to grammar lessons, right?\nSo, in case you missed it while you were flirting with Suzy who sat behind you in class, \u201Cinto\u201D is one single preposition and is generally used as an expression of movement.\n\nEx. \u201CAlice met the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter when she fell into the rabbit hole.\u201D\n\u201CInto\u201D is also used to indicate a change of physical state.\nEx. \u201CJustin Bieber turned into a pop sensation overnight.\"\n\nThe phrase \u201Cin to,\u201D on the other hand, is two separate prepositions. It is correct to say: \u201CEven though the wallet was stuffed with hundred dollar bills and obscenely large diamond rings, I turned it in to the police.\u201D \nIf you wrote that you turned the wallet into the police, you would be indicating that you transformed a wallet into a police force, which is nonsensical at best. Instead, you want to indicate that you are handing over the wallet to the police. \nTo recap: Celebrities frequently check in to rehab centers. They also check in to exclusive hotels on Caribbean islands. So it follows that: \u201CI check in to the Williamsburg Bridge when I ride my bike to work.\u201D And \u201CI didn\u2019t check in to the theater when I went to see Twilight, because I didn\u2019t want anyone to know I actually sort of like those movies.\u201D\nOops\u2026I guess the cat\u2019s out of the bag on that one now.\nThis guide should help clear things up for you. Please comment and let us know if there are any other social media grammar rules that you aren't quite clear about.  \nMore Social Media Resources from Mashable:\n- 20 Cool Twitter Accounts for Daily Fun and Inspiration [PICS]- 5 Huge Trends in Social Media Right Now- The WikiLeaks Debate: Journalists Weigh In- A Field Guide to Using Facebook Places- 5 Useful Facebook Trend and Search Services\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, dalton00"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/09/03/social-media-grammar-checkin/>