I have been using Foursquare for just a few days and instantly grasped its potential. I suspect that this will take some time to catch on in New Zealand given our propensity to value and protect our individual privacy at all costs. It may be worth taking a moment to get better acquainted with this emerging platform before you start being a doubting Thomas.
Twitter has been around for over three years and conceptually about as basic as any communication platform could be - build a community and share your thoughts, ideas and resources with them. Foursquare is a little more complex, has a game play element to it and requires notifying people to your exact location. Despite any initial reservations or preconceived anxieties it has some interesting promotional applications for any business prepared to think outside the square.
Foursquare makes use of the geo-location (A-GPS) functionality of the smartphones like iPhone, Blackberry and Android, much like the one in your in-car navigation system. Now link this location based function with your social network, add the ability to get and give comments, tips and feedback with a few incentive bonus points thrown in and this starts making sense. Like most other Social platforms you invite and build a list of friends. As you travel around to destinations like malls, cafes, restaurants and bars you “check in”. You are given the option of doing this privately or posting your whereabouts to your selected Foursquare friends list. For those wanting to be a little more public the location and a custom message can also be added to your Twitter and Facebook sites at the same time.
Points are awarded to you for adding venues not currently on the Foursquare listing as are points and awards for every time you check in or reach certain milestones. Where Foursquare starts giving some real value back apart from being able to locate friends for a quick meet up whether at a café, concert or conference is you are able to leave comments, tips and advice to those that check-in to the same spot later. This could be a recommendation of a great meal, nice wine on their list or making people aware of price special. This point tally is accumulated over a week and can be compared to that of your list of friends.
Another feature that gives incentive for repeat venue visitation is becoming “Mayor”. This is awarded to the individual that makes the most return visits to any location (not on the same day). This is where businesses like Giapo Gelato, the online savvy gelato store on Queen Street in Auckland are starting to make it work for them. They offer a free Waffle cone every day to the current reining Mayor. Other business like cafes might offer free coffee, are you getting the idea? At current count Giapo Gelato have had 1468 check-ins with the reigning Mayor “Peter C” having checked-in 39 times (little doubt having sampled many of the great flavours).
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first application of its type, and certainly won’t be the last. BrightKite is one example that some claim has all the same features and better functionality. Like any innovation, (think back to the Beta vs. VHS video battle) it’s not always the best platform that wins, it’s were the most users are. On that basis Foursquare seems to be leading the charge. Facebook have recently launched their new app “Places” which has taken all the best features of Foursquare. With the weight of numbers backing it up Facebook have the potential of grinding others into insignificance so it will be interesting to see the uptake when it is accessible from NZ.
The application for the phone can be downloaded from www.foursquare.com
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