I figured it was time to write the definitive guide to how I use Foursquare (or any location based app) because I have been bombarded with Foursquare requests lately and I sleep better at night knowing that people are using products and services exactly the way I do…and honestly I have been too busy to think up some interesting blogs to write. So without further adieu I present you The Not So Definitive “How Saul Colt Uses Foursquare Guide”.
For those of you not sure what I am talking about, Foursquare is a location based game where people check into locations from their mobile phone and get points and badges for completing certain tasks. It is a fun way to share what you are up to and recently they have been getting a lot of media attention for a partnership they forged with Metro Newspapers
Maybe I am a realist or just grumpy as I write this but I need to say I could not care less about the points and badges but I do like Foursquare so because of this I have taken the following approach to Foursquare. I very rarely check in while I am in my home town because I rarely do interesting things except work and catch up on TV and people shouldn’t care when I am home on my couch…and people don’t really care when I am at work but like any content you are pushing out, people are intrigued by “interesting things” and for that reason I only check in when I am somewhere cool.
I travel a lot and when I do I am always on the go and bouncing around from meetings to events and in my opinion (I could be wrong here) but it is much more interesting to live voyeuristically through adventures then day to day activities.
This may be more of a comment on my life than yours so please feel free to post every single place you go because that brings me to the other way I use Foursquare.
Access to you.
Yep, as creepy as this sounds I watch where people are. Like I stated above, I don’t care when you are sitting on your couch or in your bed and will never drop in uninvited but when I am at a conference and there are multiple events at the same time I will look to see where people are going and look for opportunities to speak to people I need to catch up with. At Airports I look for people to waste time with or split cabs. Surprisingly I don’t use Foursquare for creepy purposes but there are opportunities for that as well…I just don’t have the time or energy.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Foursquare and think people should play around with it and figure out how it best works for you…and if you don’t travel etc look for ways to use Foursquare for more ways then just collecting badges because badges are for boy scouts.
What says you?
