FourSquare

An interesting trip to Applebees late night tonight got me thinking about this social media website called FourSquare. It's a location based app that you can download to I-Phone, Android, and Blackberry. If you're saying that it sounds like Facebook places, that's because FourSquare has been out for 2 years and Facebook is just trying to get in on some of the pie. I was introduced to the website at my internship which ended last Friday. Fortune 500 companies are pouring tons of money into this website. It's growing by leaps and bounds and I'm just glad that I can say that I was there before it was big? Even though that's completely false because it came out in 2009. Oh well.

The idea behind FourSquare is that you "check-in" to locations and potentially earn discounts or promotional deals. If you check-in to a location enough times, you will become the "Mayor" of the location. Now this mayorship title is like the ultimate thing you want. For example, someone is the mayor of the White House and it's not Obama. Anyone with a phone can become mayor of whatever. It's also cool to see where you're friends are and what places they are checking out. I also forgot to mention that you can earn badges as well that award you for doing things like checking into hot-spots and staying out late on a school night. They're fun to get and it's almost like Pokemon. You gotta catch em' all. It is meant to encourage you to explore new places and try different things.

Close...but no cigar

Back to tonight, I became mayor of Applebees and I asked my friends if they have heard of FourSquare thinking, maybe, someone would have taken the plunge by now. My friend Adam exclaimed, "I love FourSquare!" I thought, awesome I have a friend that knows about FourSquare. To my disappointment, he was taking about the game involving.a dodgeball. Guess you can't win them all. I wasn't too happy about becoming mayor of Applebees. Not only do I not get recognition, but I really don't want to be the mayor of such an establishment. Though I must say, they stepped up their late night game. From 9-12:30am you can get $3.50 22oz brews and half price apps. Sounds like I found my new favorite place! The only place I would say that I am proud to be the mayor of would be Beechmont. That's pretty cool in my opinion. They're on Facebook and maybe Twitter, so when they start with FourSquare (if ever) I may even reap the benefits. Who knows. Other notable mayorships include such noble establishments as Amend Hall and the Iona College Boathouse. Not a big deal. So that's my take on FourSquare. I challenge you to download the app for yourself and try it out.

Some of the badges you can earn. Go nuts!