After deciding Twitter wasn’t so bad, I decided I would jump into the social networking bandwagon sooner next time. That’s why I decided to listen Jen Reeves and join foursquare. For those of you who aren’t playing, foursquare is location-based social networking. Users “check-in” as they visit different locations and earn badges for making multiple trips, trips to the same places, exploring their city, etc. You can also become the “mayor” of a place that you visit frequently. I downloaded foursquare for my iPhone and promptly forgot to check into my next destination. Not to mention the application kept crashing my phone.
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But a curious thing happened earlier this week. After downloading the latest iPhone software, I was able to access foursquare on the mobile web, where it was intended to be played. I also got off my lazy butt and added KBIA-FM 91.3 as a location. Almost immediately, I was the mayor… which, I won’t lie, was kind of cool (in a dorky third grade sense, of course). At first, I thought it would be an easy “public office” to hold, but a few hours later, I learned that some of the on air staff are also using foursquare. Suddenly, I have an incentive to check in each and every time I visit… or else I may be unseated.
If you’re scratching your head and thinking all of this sound silly, that foursquare sounds as juvenile as the playground game for which its named, then you’re right. Currently, the application is little more than a game. But there’s a lot of promise in location-based social networking (not to mention hyper-local reporting). Check out some of the early reviews on Google Buzz. One of the most promising things about the new social network is the integration of Google Maps, which promises a visual alternative to the linear feeds of Facebook and Twitter. I’d love to see the incorporation of geolocation into journalism projects that have already gone hyperlocal – for instance, the neighborhood beats at the Columbia Missourian. The reporter could construct a visual timeline embedded with information gathered at each site s/he visited. I think we’ll also see a lot of cities and municipalities embrace the technology as a way to encourage tourism. In college towns like Columbia, it could become an excellent platform for acquainting incoming students with the campus and the surrounding community.
But for right now, I’m just trying to get down the hang of playing foursquare. It seems as though more “rules” will come into play as a great number of users access the social network. For example, KBIA is located in Jesse Hall, both of which are listed as locations. Do I check into both the general location (Jesse) and the specific location (KBIA)? If that logic is sound, does that hold I can check “out” of KBIA and back into Jesse each time I leave the newsroom to get a snack from the vending machine or use the restroom on the third floor? Further, it seems a little unethical to me to make your home a location. On one side, it does give your friends somewhere to check in when they come visit. But come on, really, who visits your home more than you? It seems like an easy way to grant office to those who would not otherwise have one. Besides, foursquare is all about getting out and exploring your community, not being a hermit in your own home. For now, I’ll refrain from making Walnut Brook a location. (I’ll note that I’m more comfortable with making one neighborhood or apartment complex into a single location, as there’s still an element of competition between residents there.)
In other news, with the addition of foursquare to my repertoire, I’m feeling a bit of social network overload – a new enthusiasm for Twitter, a new layout on Facebook, new professional connections on LinkedIn and news possibilities with Google Buzz. But more on that later.
