There I was on Facebook, getting angry about the constant Farmville and other ridiculous updates that I have to swim through and I noticed that some of my friends were inundating me with their location.
“Your friend just checked in at the Wal Mart on Bell Rd.,” and then, “your friend just arrived at Starbucks.” Who in the hell cares? Well, unfortunately, I do now.
That’s right, your friends, and now myself, are playing Foursquare, the new geo-social network. Originally, before I joined the game, I thought it was a waste of time and rather annoying. Now I am having a blast.
Foursquare is typically used as an application on your cell phone. You open the application each time you go somewhere and you “check-in.” You can check-in at your work, your school or your favorite place for breakfast.
As you visit places more frequently, you earn more points at the location and can eventually be crowned “mayor” of the location.
Once again, why should you want to play the game? Well, as you become the mayor of places, some locations will reward you with coupons or deals based on how frequently you visit. It is a way to reward being a regular from somewhere.
For example, I was downtown eating breakfast and I noticed that the favorite coffee shop I go to is offering a $2 discount for their mayor. I checked in the next three days I picked up coffee, and when I became mayor, I started getting daily discounts – until someone took the mayorship away.
It is also a fun way to find out about new places. Just like Facebook or MySpace, you have a friends list. If you notice that your friends are frequenting a new place – you can check it out.
You can even leave tips at your favorite locations. For example, if you like a certain sandwich that isn’t on the menu – but the cook makes it anyway if you ask – you can post that to the location. Now all of your friends know about a hidden secret.
The best part is, you do not have to post your location to Facebook or Twitter. You can, but if you want to only post on Foursquare, you can play the game without annoying your friends on other networks.