I’ve been curious about foursquare for a while now, and yesterday’s New York Times article (as well as me needing an idea for a travelogue) was the tipping point for making me finally attempt to see what it’s all about.
According to the NY Times article, foursquare is “a fast-growing social networking service…becoming the tool of choice. A combination of friend-finder, city guide and competitive bar game, Foursquare lets users “check in” with a cellphone at a bar, restaurant or art gallery. That alerts their friends to their current location so they can drop by and say hello.”
I was actually under the impression that foursquare was only for iPhone/Android users, and since I don’t have either (ohh, Verizon…) I didn’t think I could participate. But apparently, users can check-in by texting to 50500. To receive check-ins from friends, you can link your foursquare account to your Twitter account, receive the check-ins as Direct Messages, and have them sent to your phone. Kind of a roundabout way of doing it, but still workable.
Foursquare only has 60,000 users right now – I’ve already gone through my email/Twitter/Facebook contacts, and only 6 of my friends are on it (some of you guys should sign up, or let me know if you’re already on it!). So I’m interested to see if, within the next three weeks, the buzz surrounding the service increases participants. Like other social networking sites, it doesn’t seem worthwhile unless one’s friends and contacts participate as well.
It’s available in 31 cities, and also incorporates a gaming competition. Users who frequent a particular place enough times are crowned “mayor” of that location, and points and badges are awarded to users depending on how often they go out and which places they visit. Some small business are actually advertising deals and promotions for foursquare players – for example, giving the “mayor” a free drink, or giving regular users their 10th cupcake for free.
I want to actively participate in foursquare (I’m going to attempt to convince more of my friends sign up today), and see what it takes to build a “reputation.” Will I be able to become mayor of my favorite haunts? I also want to look at how businesses around NYC are utilizing foursquare to increase participation, and see what, if there are any new features that are going to be incorporated into the site since it’s just now emerging. Foursquare seems to hold a lot of potential for young urbanites, so I’m pretty excited how this goes.
Possibly Relevant Posts:
- Foursquare’d: Week 1 (2) | Alison
- What’s It Worth? Foursquare and Business Opportunity (5) | Alison
- Wanted: An iPhone + More Friends (6) | Alison
6 Comments
Great! If you later in the process you would want to interview the founder, just let me know
Do you actually have to physically be at these places to comment on them? This sounds like an interesting service and a good advertising tool. I wonder how long until it just becomes another part of the “culture industry.”
I signed up, but don’t have an iPhone (although they do allow you to get it for the iPod Touch, but that would require your venue to have Wi-Fi I guess, and the reviews say it’s really buggy). So at this point I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with it next…
Cool idea though, I want to hear more about it.
One might argue that it already is a part of the culture industry; businesses are using it as a marketing tool, which is where the real genius in foursquare comes in. Users get certain deals when utilizing foursquare. I would imagine that the places one frequents and signs into helps to build a profile for the user, which might be sold for advertising purposes. It’s definitely fun and interactive (from what I hear, I’ve never actually used it), but its also kind of unsettling in terms of privacy. It might be the perfect marketing tool. I imagine we’re probably mere months away from coupons popping up on our mobile phones depending on where we are.
And P.S. Android hits Verizon on October 30th I believe. I’m excited about this as well, I’m sure its better than my BlackBerry and its horrendous browser.
It’s a website where people can track your whereabouts? Creepy! Hey, assorted creeps: like the convenience of internet stalking, but miss the in-person leering? Try Foursquare! It’s stalking, the easy way!
Ew ew ew. Will not be trying.
Oh foursquare. I once went out with a few advertising industry people all using foursquare. Within minutes of arriving at a new bar, sometimes right next door to the previous, all of them would whip out their cell phones and check in to foursquare. Interestingly, they didn’t run into anyone else that night since they already all seemed to be together.
I am really interested to see what discoveries you make regarding the questions posed. I’m interested in how reputation is built in this system, and what would motivate people to want to become mayors of a spot. Good luck!
I joined foursquare last week, but haven’t bothered to set anything up. If you end up giving it good reviews, maybe I’ll consider using it in the future!