Apr 10
3
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like while there has been a lot of great publicity about foursquare – all the high-profile partnerships they’ve been signing, teaming up with bing’s maps, huge usership increases, etc. – there’s been a ton of negative sentiment surrounding the location-based social networking service. I suppose it shouldn’t be unexpected; this seems to be some people’s reaction over and over again. The ultimate utility of social networks and Web 2.0 applications isn’t always as slap-you-in-the-face obvious as other technology. Oh you like bread? This is a toaster. It warms up your slices of bread. Brilliant! See this Garmin? It lets you know where you are anywhere in the world. You’ll never get lost again. Genius!
It’s 1995. Classmates.com? You can be online “friends” with people that you went to school with. Oh…uhhh okay.
It’s 1999. This Blogger thing? Just write, like you’d be writing articles for the paper. Yeah, you’re probably right. Nobody’ll read it.
It’s 2003. MySpace? Yeah, kind of like Classmates. Trust us, you’ll get it.
It’s 2004. Okay, how about Facebook? See? Yeah, you’re getting it.
It’s 2005. YouTube? You watch videos online. No, no, not like how you watch TV. At all. Don’t worry about it.
It’s 2008. What’s Twitter? Tell people what you’re doing. Yes, anything. No, not about the sandwich you just made. Try to keep it interesting! No, wait, you don’t actually care what Ashton is doing, do you? You do? Ugh, fine. Let’s carry on.
It’s 2009. BrightKite, Gowalla, and foursquare? You want me to “check-in” online where I am in real life? What the heck is the point of that?? Oo I know! I’ll be the mayor of my house! Of my office! I’ll be on top of the world! No. You’re missing it again.
Sorry for that impromptu timeline, I was feelin’ it. So the point is that the cream rises to the top, and people talk about these services and accept these web-based apps because there’s a good reason. Classmates, MySpace, Facebook? People wanted to keep in touch. Blogger? People felt empowered when they could self-publish in an instant. YouTube? Ditto, except with video. People really liked sharing video. Twitter? People publish so quickly, and from anywhere, that their stories become the real-time news. Foursquare (et al.)? People pinging their locations and giving their city a pulse, creating a whole new social dynamic. For example, ‘Hey, Jed just got to Rittenhouse Square, and I’m right around the corner! Maybe I’ll go say hi because we haven’t hung out in a while. Or maybe that bastard owes me ten dollars. Or maybe the bartender at the restaurant I’m at gives a free beer with a check-in. Or 10% off the bill for the mayor. I’m definitely checking in for that.’ I’m rambling. The point is…
People enjoy a few things in their social networking. 1. Clarity – preferably only one task, like talking to friends, watching a video, etc. 2. Publishing – we will publish absolutely everything, we love it, just keep the process simple. 3. Rewards – how many friends do I have now? how many people have bookmarked my channel now? how many badges do I have now? Foursquare does all of these things, and has a better business model than Twitter, or Facebook, or even (dare I say?) Google, for that matter. People not only enjoy connecting with other people through social media, but they seem to prefer doing it with people they’re friends with in real life. Meaning locally. Meaning social media is built for small- to medium-sized businesses with a strong local brand. Yes, Coca-Cola has a million gillion Facebook fans, but they don’t buy cokes on the Facebook page, and they certainly don’t know your name. The Facebook page or your local pub or favorite shoe boutique, however, will talk to you, and might even have a picture of you on the Photos tab from some event. You bond with them. And on foursquare, those small- to medium-sized businesses can see how many times you’ve showed up that week. They can say ‘Hey! Come in again and we’ll show you that new pair of shoes we just got in!’ They’re not just advertising to you, they’re connecting with you in the real world, which goes without saying (but I will anyway) is a hell of a lot more powerful than a PPC ad for “belt sander”.
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