Archive for January, 2010

In recent weeks, I’ve become fascinated with the location-based social network called Foursquare. While I’ve been using location-based apps on both my Blackberry and iPhone for a while (Google Maps is a good example), Foursquare is the first service that has made me stop and think about the potential of hyper-local marketing on mobile devices, not just down the line but right now.

Foursquare?

If you haven’t tried Foursquare yet (and most people haven’t), here’s the deal.
Foursquare describes itself as “50% friend-finder, 30% social cityguide, 20% nightlife game.” While in Beta, Foursquare was only available in a few cities, but in recent weeks has opened up for access in any city. Now, whenever you arrive at a new place you can “check in” to tell the service you’re there.

Each time you “check in” you earn points, which go towards a “leaderboard” of you and the people to whom you’ve chosen to connect. If you’ve visited a place more than anyone else in the last 60 days, you become the “mayor.” It’s largely meaningless, but cool to see people who regularly attend places (especially from a marketing potential perspective.) It can also link to your Twitter and Facebook feeds to broadcast to your friends where you are and the different badges you have obtained. Read the rest of this entry »