Today, Foursquare, the social media service founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai, took over my old stomping grounds-Omaha, NE. They are pretty much taking over the world, with a newsworthy angel roster helping them out, in case you haven't been paying attention. After the 5th email and tweet asking me to explain just what in the world Foursquare was exactly, I figured it was the appropriate time to do a post. Foursquare is basically your life as a video game. Technically speaking it's "a service that mixes social, locative and gaming elements to encourage people explore the cities in which they live." Here's what you need to know:
Basically you check in at the places you are at from your phone and try to unlock badges, become the mayor, and essentially "beat" people by checking in at more places than them. It also gives you a chance to see where your friends are at any given times (at least your friends that are avid users of 4S). Because most of the press on Foursquare may be tough to digest for my tech-novices, I'm going to make this as simple as possible. You should join Foursquare if you:
Like playing video games....
Need a new reason to brag about your avid social life...
Ever want to become the official Mayor of a place without having to actually run for office...
Want to see if your ex is at a mutual friends birthday party before you go...
Want to keep up with Ashton Kutcher's level of tech-coolness...
Want to use a analytical process for determining the hot places of your given city at any given moment (at least among Foursquare users)....
Here's a look at my homepage:
It's not much, as you can see. Because frankly, I haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet.
Here is a photo of what it may look like to you from your iPhone:
And finally, just for shits and giggles, here is a photo of founder Dennis Crowley's hair curtains from Highschool:
I hope this is helpful in making your decision on whether or not you use this free service!