I’m Drinking The Foursquare Kool-Aid
I wonder if there is a Foursquare Anonymous. I’m seriously addicted. Don’t laugh. Once you try it, you will be too. It’s what I thought Twitter was supposed to be – letting people know where you are and what you’re doing, but there’s so much more value-add than that with Foursquare. It’s not just the “I’m here” but also the “and now what” that makes it soooo powerful and cool. This weekend I was in Stowe, Vermont with my son and his friend. Needed a place to go to dinner, so I checked into Foursquare and found that the Whip Grill was just two blocks away. I was also able to get a great tip on what to order – guacamole made fresh at our table! What’s also neat is how businesses are making the most of Foursquare. When I showed the server at the Whip Grill that I found his restaurant using Foursquare, he handed me a free drink. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m also addicted to the competitive aspect of Foursquare. I’m still a Newbie, but well on my way to unlocking the Adventurer badge. Not to brag, but I”m number one on the leaderboard today.
Foursquare is so practical and easy to use too. Even if you don’t have an iphone or blackberry, you can still use the service by sending SMS messages to 50500. Another neat feature is that you can gain points without letting your friends know where you are (in case it’s a scandalous venue). They know you’ve checked in but you’re “off the grid.” And “shout outs” are fun – you do stuff at a venue and then shout out that you’ve done them.
Love to blog more, but I’ve got things to do and new places to see… thanks to Foursquare.
Are you addicted too?
Great post, Cindy. Like you, I’m also drinking the FourSquare Kool-Aid. I’m a newby but i’ve already unlocked a couple of badges and it’s definitely pulling me in. Can’t wait to see it increase in popularity. Like all social networks, it’s much more fun the more people you can connect with!
Thanks for noting that Foursquare works via SMS too. I’ve been holding off on joining Foursquare because I assumed you needed an internet enabled phone to have it work correctly.
I’m new to FourSquare but am getting why it can be so addicting! I feel like I’m behind and have the desire to whip out my iphone and check in every single place I go. Sadly, not too many of my friends are using it, but I do see a lot of my Twitter followers stopping at places around Boston and now I have a list of restaurants to eat at and stores I want to check out!
Pour me a glass! I love Foursquare’s geo-targeted communications. Where the Twitter stream has gotten unwieldy for some (though I’m still a fan for many reasons), Foursquare is laser-sharp. In case you missed it, here’s a story on Foursquare from Sunday’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/nyregion/20bigcity.html
Danielle, they definitely make it easy to not be square by letting you check in from places you hang out in via text, and if you have the the web on your phone, you can view your friends’ locations plotted on a map! Happy trails. Cindy
Skye, agree that’ it’s more fun with friends, but it’s also great that foursquare provides an aggregated view of all the cool things being done by all their app users in a given location. So it’s also a way to meet new friends, try new places and really enhance your social media party hopping options! Cindy
i had no idea what this was, even though i see postings in my facebook feed. now i am off to become addicted to something new.
Kim, the foursquare vortex is powerful! would love to hear back from you once you’re fully addicted. Cindy
[...] is Whrrl? It’s similar to foursquare in that it’s a mobile locator-based app for smart phones which allows the user to [...]
Great to see you sipping from the fount of Foursquare!
I can see lots of great marketing value from a service like Foursquare and brands like Starbucks are already starting to offer discounts to Mayors.
Here in the UK, it’s disappointing how few PR agencies have woken up to location based networking’s potential impact on campaigns.
Here’s my write up:
http://raxraxrax.com/2010/03/21/exposed-uk-pr-agencies-fail-to-understand-foursquare/