@Foursquare And Why It Should Succeed

I join a few sites here and there and check them out just to taste the diverse flavors the web has to offer.  One of my new favorites is @foursquare.  Combine all the 'dwindling' geotagging sites that are dull and uneventful and add a reward system and you have Foursquare.  Include a few goal-driven perks and make it super easy to access via my Nexus One and I am all in!

Foursquare isn't a 'new' social playground, matter of fact it's been around since March 2009.  It's a 'rapidly growing*' free service that allows location-based tracking of your destinations through-out the day.  You may ask why.  You possibly think that this is just another big brother site.  It's very close, but it also has the many privacy options you would require to fly anonymous and still enjoy the "game".  Yes, I used the term "game".  Don't be surprised because that is exactly what this is.  There is a score and other amenities that you can flaunt as you progressively move around your city and show off your achievements.

Let me explain further...

I am not a big fan of geotagging my twitter updates with locations and neither do I care to float around on Latitude or Google Buzz like a balloon head with no body.  I set them up, looked around then disabled them.  I also had an interest in Loopt.  Loopt is a popular geotagging software based around SMS and friend proximity.  It also grew a bit tiresome.  No matter what service you choose to show people you are at the mall, you are just at the mall.  Your presence fades as the tweets and status updates flood over your modest comment and no one ever remembers you were there.  Here is where Foursquare comes in.

Imagine for a second you can leave you mark at your location.  In the past, you would have carved "LLS <3 WKS 2010" into the table with your dinner knife.  Future visitors gawk at how you spent so much time there when they see this archaic display of territory.  You are a part of that place.  You are linked to it's history.  OK, now imagine Foursquare as the table and your mobile device as the dinner knife.

Foursquare allows you to leave your mark via the web and even leave a comment or suggest a "To-Do" at this location.  The most interesting feature is the mayorship you can acquire.  A mayorship is the equivalent of being a local at one location.  To gain this status at any one location you need to have checked in more than anyone else.  When other's visit this location they can see that you are mayor and even connect with you.  It is quite possible the mayor has left a little nugget of knowledge that you can find out about a new place.  The mayor has no responsibilities as a real mayor.  Its purely social and says I have been here more than you and that makes me just a little bit cooler!  Well, maybe not....

Whether you are mayor or not, you still have other rewards to seek.  The other aspect of this location tagging adventure is the badges.  Even as I type, I know the excitement that takes over after receiving one of these coveted markers and it makes me smile.  I want them all.  There are some that seem impossible and take time like checking in at 50 different venues.  It's tough but fun.

With all that said the only thing that is required of you is to 'check-in'.  You will find areas where your local hamburger spot hasn't been added as a venue.  It's OK, just take a moment and add it.  Every mobile app I have seen allows for you to add venues on the fly.  In some cases, it will automatically find the address and you just give the name.  Besides, after you add a 'new' venue and check-in, you only need one more check-in at that location before you can claim mayor!  Yes!  If you obtain mayor of 10 locations at once, you get the Super Mayor badge.

What about safety?  The safety concerns of alerting your public status to others that you are not home is not a good idea whether it be from Foursquare or any other site.  Upon creating an account, please visit the privacy section and define the level of notification you want the world to see via Twitter or Facebook and even Foursquare.  It is ready to link to all your social sites and unleash gobs of info about your whereabouts.  Be careful!  Be SMART!

With all the geotagging ideas out there,  there seems to be something appealing about this to me.  Loopt, Gowalla, Google Buzz and Google Latitude are informative but I don't get much incentive to continually interact.  Every morning, I wake up, grab my phone and check-in for breakfast.  Check-in when I get to work.  Check-in at lunch.  Check-in when I come back to work from lunch. Then, I finally check-in at home. It seems a bit much and I agree it seems exhausting but it is quite the opposite.  One click....and I am checked in. The apps, which are available for any 'new' phone, auto-find venues close to you so you don't have to search.  I can start to see where other sites just missed the boat on reward driven experiences.

So, next time your out-and-about, think of all the places you are passing that presently exist on Foursquare.  Your city is already filling with a collection of 'local' mayors all supporting the city in a mini-marketing campaign.  Users 'swarming' concerts at arenas or speaking conventions.  Knowledgeable people leaving advice, or 'virtual carvings', to share with newcomers at a favorite restaurant.  I believe this hierarchy of active users can push other new users to 'want' these virtual status symbols.  This user competition may be the advantage that could bring Foursquare closer to center stage.  And yes, I will be there; as mayor of your favorite place!

Please Rob Me?! 8 Ways To Be More Responsible Online

What?  Really?  A site dedicated to informing the public of your adventures?  You can not just walk out of the house and take the same non-precautions your parents did.  C'mon people, this is the 10's....uh, ok.  ;)   I fall into the range of kids that our parents rarely locked the door so this could be a tough sell.

Being responsible online is a bigger issue than one may think. Sites like http://pleaserobme.com/ stand for awareness (more than information) about a growing issue with the unbeknownst user wanting to graffiti their new Buzz update on the latest diner.  Or becoming mayor of the local Waffle House on http://foursquare.com.  It is this carelessness that can get your house uncovered, smothered and robbed!

Being proactive about your location safety can come in many forms.  One of most important no-no's is a series of updates stating an upcoming vacation or long absence.  With the uprise of twitter and Buzz, we have become maddened by the clouding of the non-essential, blotter style news that we are drifting into a pirates haven.  Thieves can have a twitter account, right?!  @iWantToRobYou......suprisingly not taken!  Makes me feel a little warmer inside....

Here are a 8 safety topics I would recommend to learn more about.  Take a second, buckle your social seatbelt and stop punching away on your phone for one minute.  We really don't need to know every time you pass by the boutique or tech shop to tout your thin, online ego...

1. Privacy Settings - Find them quick.  From foursquare to twitter to Buzz to facebook, you have a ton of privacy concerns that have already been brought up by the above statements.  Trustworthy sites make it easy to protect yourself. Make yourself aware of the depth you would like to provide to the public, if any.  Once you begin looking around, you may be surprised to see how much is actually out there.
2. Mobile Settings - Yes, your phone has a GPS.  Yes, I see you on my Latitude.  Yes, I am now bored with your location.  All phones ask who you would like to see your location.  Spending time with this familiar feature can provide easy access to turning this ON and OFF quickly.  
3. Your Updates - My personal policy is to update statuses mentioning my attack birds frequently so a would be robber will be deterred from getting pooped on relentlessly by my birds.  They are well fed.  Otherwise, I stick to ambiguous comments about the locations I am at.  I have nothing worth stealing so most of my updates are open but the advantages to being open, as opposed to anonymous, are yet to show themselves.  Use your own common sense on this.  
4. Pictures - It's always best to post pictures of your vacation when you return.  This can be a heartfelt gesture to your family and friends but your social network can include many people who don't need to know you fell off your bike in Times Square and here's the picture to prove it!  Wait til you get home, organize them and then post!  At least mobile pictures can be ambiguous...use playful comments.  Post a picture of Burger King and say, "Man, I love this place!" Then post to facebook.  Don't say, "Man, I love this place....looks like imma stay here til dinner time.  (So you can rob me!)"  
5. Digitally Cleanse your following - facebook is safe(?).  Don't quote me but at least you can confirm friends.  Unlike facebook, twitter and Buzz can become a hassle trying to cleanse your followers by hitting 'unfollow, block, report' just so you feel better.  It's the comparison to barnacles on a boat.  Spam followers inflate your following but when real people come through and notice you are not tending your flock, you lose a little social capital.  Stay on top of your followers!  It's time to clean house! 
6. Easy Target Syndrome - Yes, you!  The guy in the red shirt who hasn't looked up at this thread one time.  You are so busy with all your friends business you are forgetting you need to take some time to protect yourself.  This point is really easy to explain.  BE CAREFUL!  The police will not respond to "@911 Help Me!"  Lock your doors.  Tell family, friends and neighbors when you may be out of town.  Have a safety net for times there may be problems.  Give your landlord notice, tell pops you will be gone and don't stay gone for extended periods and notify twitter of every move. Well, unless you have menacing attack birds ready to poop on anyone who enters your home!
7. Google Yourself - Nothing represents a good old fashion confidence boost like a Google search on yourself.  For the most part, you will likely find other people in the world that share your name and yes, they do exist.  Google is probably the most comprehensive search tool available.  However, using other sites can only improve your technique for finding out who is talking about you.
8. Google Alerts - If you are web conscious already you probably already use Google Reader or Google News Alerts to scan comprehensive results and spoon feed these reports to you at an alarming rate.  Setting up a Google Alert is easy and can immediately send you details of when your name is found on the web.  Don't be shy!  Try several types of searches.  For example, I use "lucaslshaffer", "Lucas L Shaffer", "Lucas Shaffer" and "Lucas Lamberto Shaffer".  If any of these terms cross the wire, Google alerts me and I can be there before anyone else.  Be Smart!  This is very useful on many levels...

Many of these are common sense but still reflect a big part of what you CAN and CANNOT control.  You pretty much have the power to handle your online visibility and it's 'your' responsibility to monitor your online social life just as it is to monitor your in-person social life (if you still have one, yikes!)

Nothing is more important than the safety of everyones family and friends.  Take the time to learn to protect yourself, as well!