About 15 years ago when I was 10-years-old, we played this game on the playground with a kickball. You’d hit the rubber ball with your hands into the four different squares marked with chalk. The object of the game was to make as little mistakes as possible and get to the first-ranked square. The game was called foursquare. Up until a few weeks ago, this was the only foursquare that existed to my knowledge.
Now Foursquare is a social networking Web site. Huh?
According to foursquare.com, the mobile application lets users “check in” through their smart phone to let others know where they are. “Friends” can track the history of where a person has been and who they’ve been with. Launched in March 2009, the application now has more than 3 million users.
And I thought Twitter was weird.
Hi, I’m out eating dinner at wherever, please come rob my house. Or, I’m at a bar drinking Miller Lite with my friends. And I care why?
The only way I can see Foursquare being in the least bit useful is for restaurants and retail stores. If a restaurant has a promotion that the first 20 users to “check in” get a free appetizer, then I can sort of see that. Just like any other social media site, the information is probably very viral. If I saw that my friend checked in at Macy’s and got 20 percent off their purchase, I might go to.
That is, if I had Foursquare. Or even Internet on my phone. I feel like I need a break from technology every once in awhile. If I had Internet on my phone, I would never get a break. I guess I don’t care to be connected to my e-mail and Facebook 24/7. And I don’t have a Twitter or Foursquare account.
Which brings me to my next point. Why do people care about other people so much? I’ll admit that I probably go on Facebook at least two or three times per day to see what others are up to. But why do I do that? Why do I care that an old acquaintance from high school got married, or that a person I used to know in college had a baby out of wedlock? Maybe I want to compare my life to theirs? That might be a subject for a whole different blog.
I think Foursquare brings the caring about what other people are doing to a whole new level. Seeing that an old friend got married is a little different than caring what they’re eating for lunch. I feel like an old fart for not seeing what the appeal of it is and feeling like I don’t want to broadcast my day-to-day tasks to the world. Not too long ago my parents didn’t see the appeal of Facebook and now they both have accounts. Maybe I’ll change, but for now I’ll just stick to good ol’ Facebook.
Now Foursquare is a social networking Web site. Huh?
According to foursquare.com, the mobile application lets users “check in” through their smart phone to let others know where they are. “Friends” can track the history of where a person has been and who they’ve been with. Launched in March 2009, the application now has more than 3 million users.
And I thought Twitter was weird.
Hi, I’m out eating dinner at wherever, please come rob my house. Or, I’m at a bar drinking Miller Lite with my friends. And I care why?
The only way I can see Foursquare being in the least bit useful is for restaurants and retail stores. If a restaurant has a promotion that the first 20 users to “check in” get a free appetizer, then I can sort of see that. Just like any other social media site, the information is probably very viral. If I saw that my friend checked in at Macy’s and got 20 percent off their purchase, I might go to.
That is, if I had Foursquare. Or even Internet on my phone. I feel like I need a break from technology every once in awhile. If I had Internet on my phone, I would never get a break. I guess I don’t care to be connected to my e-mail and Facebook 24/7. And I don’t have a Twitter or Foursquare account.
Which brings me to my next point. Why do people care about other people so much? I’ll admit that I probably go on Facebook at least two or three times per day to see what others are up to. But why do I do that? Why do I care that an old acquaintance from high school got married, or that a person I used to know in college had a baby out of wedlock? Maybe I want to compare my life to theirs? That might be a subject for a whole different blog.
I think Foursquare brings the caring about what other people are doing to a whole new level. Seeing that an old friend got married is a little different than caring what they’re eating for lunch. I feel like an old fart for not seeing what the appeal of it is and feeling like I don’t want to broadcast my day-to-day tasks to the world. Not too long ago my parents didn’t see the appeal of Facebook and now they both have accounts. Maybe I’ll change, but for now I’ll just stick to good ol’ Facebook.
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