foursquare: why you should be playing
Foursquare is a location based service, meaning the application is aware of where on Earth you are located and the business around you. As you poke around town, you are able to “check in” to the places you go. Check in at the library. Check in at the supermarket. Check in at the movie theater. Everywhere you check in, you get to see who else is around, and if you choose, you can send a shout out to friends. You can even have Foursquare hooked up to your Twitter and/or Facebook accounts and post status updates to those services as you go about your adventures.
When you check in to the same place enough times (more than anyone else) you then become the Mayor of that location. It’s a pretty big deal and brings on the competition. For example: my coworker, @JessicaRMurray, forever was the mayor of CoLab – the place we both work. It only yesterday that I “ousted” her as “The Mayor of CoLab” and took the title and crown for myself. I also whipped up a nice “Mayor’s Office” sign and put it on the door to my office.
Jessica, seeing that she’s been ousted as the mayor, checks in and steals the title back… and takes with her my “Mayor’s Office” placard that I just printed out. It’s now on her desk. I’ll get it back… it’s only a matter of time (and a few more check ins).
Beneficial for the Business
Much of what makes Foursquare popular and fun has been driven by the community and businesses making use of the application not originally intended by Foursquare. Foursquare has been watching and listening though, and has made it beneficial to businesses as well. Foursquare now lets businesses offer “Foursquare specials” that will be promoted from within the application. When someone checks in at your location, or a location near your business, special offers will be pushed to the user, further promoting your business. Businesses are also able to use Foursquare to tell them how many times a customer has been to their venue or the frequency of their visits. Many venues are now using this data to reward their most loyal customers with freebies or discounts. Beyond the spirit of a fun competition, many customers are given a sense of ownership in the businesses with which they are interacting.
Tommy Allen recently said in an article about Foursquare for Rapids Growth, “I realized how Foursquare could build a new and spot-on urban map of a city, based on the strength and integrity of many contributors.”
Be you a believer in social media or not, folks are using these applications. Be them a fad or the future of the Internet, folks are now handing out kudos and complaints – broadcast it to the world instantly – right at your doorstep, before they even get in their cars to go home. Take part in the shenanigans if you can. Offering a free drink or a discount on your service every once in a while to folks who are supporting you not just off-line, but on-line as well, may go a long way to keep people coming back time and time again – and ensuring more kudos than complaints. You may even have fun in the process!
As for me? I’m the Mayor of the local AT&T Store and the BEST Greek restaurant in town: Kebab Gyros (get their Grilled Chicken Greek Salad… it’ll change your life)
HT: Shuttle Box
