If you’re a facebook friend of mine, you probably catch a few “check ins” a day from my foursquare mobile app. I have had a few conversations lately with folks about the service and what it’s all about, with users and non-users alike. To me, it seems as though the service is mainly used by social media geeks and oversharers, at least for now. I am undecided on it’s longevity and the future of a specific app for checking in at places, more on that at the end of the post…..

What is foursquare?

Foursquare is a geo-location service that allows users to  notify friends where they are. It houses it’s own list of “friends” and also integrates with facebook and twitter to send notifications. In addition to checking in, you can leave tips about locations- the best appetizer on the menu at a restaurant, the most friendly bartender at the drinking hole, etc. You can also add a “shout” to your check-in which is basically a short message about why you are where you are.

As an aside, the service awards you points as you check in though there really is no point to that other than getting more points than your friends with no reward. They also give users “badges” for hitting certain milestones, again mostly just for fun with no real value.

Why do I use it?

I had heard about foursquare quite a while back when they were offering the service in New York exclusively. During that time I started using gowalla which offers many similar functions in a different interface. There seems to be a battle brewing between the two services but that is a whole other topic.

I originally got involved out of curiosity. I enjoy exploring all most of the new interactive media out there and seeing how I can use it to advance some part of my social/business life.

Is it content?

The biggest benefit to me is that foursquare check-ins provide a good place to start a conversation, when used the way I do it. Basically I make it a point to add some relevant info in the “shout” about the place that I’m checking in at. This has proved to start some chatter with facebook friends about the places I’m visiting. And since I’m checking in from my iPhone, I get the messages and join the conversation on the move. To me this is the most powerful paradigm shift in communication today, the ability to have interactive communication between many people at different locations easily. Foursquare provides me with a service to facilitate conversations, therefore providing content.

I set myself on a mission yesterday to visit more new places than usual and check in often to see how the conversations progressed. I checked in to 10 places and included a little personal note with each. In the end I had a few fun conversations that were nothing more than chit-chat with folks that I know. Staying in touch with people is a huge plus for me, regardless of the seriousness, so I see that as a value.

The other interesting note from yesterday was that my friend Chris who was with me got into it a little bit and reminded me to check in at the various stops. Chris is slightly involved but struggles to see the value in the whole social media world so it was amusing to see him take part in it.

What others think

Most of my conversations recently have been based around the question of whether or not foursquare provides relevant content or is simply annoying. My buddy Mike recently hosted a survey regarding the usefulness of the service, with a majority stating that it was annoying. I would guess the results came in the way they did because foursquare is not widely used (yet?) and most folks simply check in without adding anything of their own.

What’s next?

As quickly as things change in the online and tech world apps like foursquare will mutate often. I believe that these services will converge with one of the major SM players like facebook or twitter. Of course they do integrate now, but you have to use a dedicated app to use the service. In the future I believe they will be one and the same, facebook allowing check-ins for instance. As for the idea of location based apps in general, I don’t think it will go away anytime soon. All of thew new mobile technologies are including GPS systems which makes these services easy to use and intelligent. I also believe that we are not far from a more widespread use of advertising on the services and if there is money to be made they will find a way to make it work.

For now, I’m happy to use it as another tool to experiment with and find a way to add a little value to my day.

If you use foursquare- do you see any value in it? Does it provide content, or is it just annoying?

If you don’t use foursquare- why not?