Foursquare is a new mobile app in the social networking world causing quite a buzz. It helps you find new ways to explore your city and to keep up with your friends. It's set up in a game like manner and you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people. The company, founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai is based out of New York City and is growing by leaps and bounds daily. Nightline and various popular magazines have hailed Fousquare as the "new Twitter". Good Brands even voted Foursquare number 9 on their Good Brands list for 2010. So, what is a Foursquare you ask? The website describes it as, “A cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things. Foursquare aims to build things to not only help you keep up with the places your friends go, but that encourage you to discover new places and challenge you to explore your neighborhood in new ways”. Cell phone companies such as IPhone, Android, Palm Pre and Blackberry all have apps for Foursquare or you can use the SMS (send texts to 50500) feature on any cell phone or use the mobile website to check in at your favorite places.

Foursquare is global so you can use it anywhere. To use Foursquare you check-in to venues by telling everyone (fellow Foursquare friends and your social networking sites) where you are. Foursquare lets your friends know where they can find you and you get awarded points and badges based on your check-ins. Foursquare finds locations based on the GPS tracking built into your phone or if a listing is not readily available on the list you have an option of permanently adding it to your locations. The app does not keep a record of your location to sell or share with anyone beside those you have chosen to share with on your social networking sites and Foursquare only knows where you are when you check-in.

Foursquare is addictive, just ask my friends about my usage. If you check-in places more than once you may just be crowned Mayor of that venue. However, if someone checks in at that place more than you do then you will lose your title. One hint the website offers is if you want to become mayor, you need to have uploaded a profile photo. Many businesses offer specials based on check-ins and mayorships. Badges can be unlocked for certain interesting things that are associated with venue tags, for example visiting a karaoke bar. It’s all one big game that keeps you checking in for more. I'm currently challenging my friend Shelia for the Mayorship of the Lebanon Kroger store. Don't tell her but I think I'm gaining on her! More businesses are adding Foursquare to their discount programs. In Wilson County, Java Joe’s on West Main Street in Lebanon offers half price drinks with a check-in. Most Foursquare check-ins will earn you points. You get points for your first check-in at certain places, by adding a new place to their listings and by traveling to several venues in one day. Foursquare is still experimenting with what points can do for vendors and patrons alike. The website notes that in December 2009, they did a charity drive where each point earned was donated to the charity. They are open to suggestions and will work with venues to come up with innovative ways to use Foursquare.

Points go as follows:
+5 points for your first time checking-in at a venue
+5 points for adding a new venue
+1 point for per check-in, increasing by +1 with each check-in



Other tidbits you should know:
“Tips" and "To-Dos":
These are means for sharing your experiences and connecting with your friends. Foursquare promotes exploring ones community and discovering new and fun places. Every user has the ability to create both "Tips" and "To-Dos" for places. Tips are usually things you'd recommend to others and To Do’s are self-reminders about things you liked or wanted to try at the venue on your next visit. Whenever you check-in to a location, a pop-up tip will appear if one of your friends has visited and documented a tip at that venue.


Checking in "Off-The-Grid":

Another important thing to note is checking in Off-The-Grid. Sometimes you just want to check-in without letting all your friends know where you are at. You always have the option of check-in without broadcasting it to your social networks or friends but still earn your points and badges.



I have had more fun using this app on my phone and tracking my stats on my laptop. Family and friends tell me they check my Facebook page before calling me because they can always tell if I am home or out and about based on my Foursquare location. That brings me to the pros and cons of using any social networking tool. I've been questioned on personal safety and asked how the tracking information could be used? This is my advice on the use of any program on the internet, use common sense and NEVER post anything on the world wide web that would place you in harms way or hurt you in any other form. In other words, don't broadcast your personal business to the world and use your privacy settings on your social networking sites to filter out the general public. Foursquare will never sell or share your information with anyone you have not authorized and does not keep track of your location unless you check-in with the app.


Overall, Foursquare gets a thumbs up from me and I invite you to try it out for yourself. The app was easy to load to my Blackberry smartphone and to my laptop. Its by far the most fun of any geo tracking program I have used and I see more people checking-in with Foursquare everyday. I hope more businesses in Lebanon, Mt. Juliet and Watertown will soon offer Foursquare discounts. Foursquare is growing in popularity because it gives you a way to communicate what you are up to, gives people a way to keep up with friend's locations, gives you a means to get discounts from your favorite places, updates both your Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as encourages you to get out and explore your community all in one fun game-like app.


To find more information about registering your business or to download Foursquare to your phone you can click on the links from their website at www.foursquare.com.