When it comes to trying Social Media applications I’ll be the first to admit I don’t exercise much restraint. Normally I jump in. Frequently I abandon for various (and good) reasons, but it doesn’t take much arm twisting to get me to try. Foursquare was for some reason different. Yes I read all the Tweets and blog posts about how it was going to be the next Twitter; blah, blah, blah. It mattered not, my willpower was strong on this one and successfully held off until last weekend. I’m sorry I did.
Once I loaded the app on my iPhone I quickly found myself checking in all over the place, one after another, after another; watching myself climb the leaderboard, envious of all those mayors. I got it now. Travel around, tell people where you are, play a game and collect badges. Nice, but is there value here?
The concept is pretty simple and they have done a very nice job at resisting making the interface complex. The design is very straightforward and doesn’t have all that fancy grey out stuff all over it. Means a bit more clicking, but it really doesn’t matter, pages load fast. I like how it allows you to shout your location to everyone, or not to if you happen to be be in stealth mode, simply check in (that’s how you earn points) on the QT. The more places you visit the more points you get. Over time you unlock badges from Newbie to Adventurer up to Superstar. Then the badges get funky; School Night, Animal House, Gym Rat, Overshare, you get the picture.
You tap the application and it gives you back a list of places near where you are. You select it and check in; points earned. If your stop is not listed you can add it. You can add tips for others to pick up along the way. Tips and To Dos are combined, which confused me. To Do is really where you want To Go, but the service can only understand locations. I typed in Chicago Auto Show, but since it’s not a place it didn’t pick it up. The whole lists thing needs to be reworked. Another thing that was perplexing was their blog entries on tumblr. The only place I could get to it from the foursquare site was by clicking the huh link on “We changed the way our badges work.”
So is it going to be as big as Twitter. I searched for Wrigley Field where the Cubs play. Results: 312 check ins and 212 unique visitors. Similar low numbers for the United Center home of the Bulls and Blackhawks. Only 320 check ins and 215 unique visitors. So where’s the swarm?
Value could be found in building tourism. Lots of visitors, tips, to do’s with a promotion and prizes could boost visits and activity for a city , festival or museum. Might also be a useful tool for those wonderful corporate scavenger hunts we all love to participate in. Interface is devoid of advertising right now, so that’s potentially a big opportunity since mobile location based is at the strength of the application. Personally it’s kind of nice having a history of your activities. “When was I there?” Pull it up. This is made easier by private feeds of your check-ins you can access via RSS. You can even import them into you iCal.
Gotta stop now. Must seek world dominance with the most Mayorships possible.
expedientmeans.com 