What Is Foursquare?
Foursquare is a location-based social network mobile phone application (Android, iPhone, Blackberry) that lets you check-in to various venues around your city or suburban sprawl neighborhood using the GPS on your phone. The venues are crowd-sourced (generated) by Foursquare users, such as the one I created at Cosi - Arlington Courthouse.
The point of checking-in to various venues allows you to obtain points, trophies, and badges. For example, if you check-in to a gym 10 times in 30 days, you can unlock the Gym Rat badge. The more you check-in, the more points you obtain. In addition, the more you travel and check-in throughout various cities, the more points you obtain, as well.
Eventually, if you check-in to a single venue more than anyone else, you become the venue’s mayor. The point is to remain there as long as possible, until someone checks-in more than you. Hence, the Dodgeball used in Foursquare’s logo- as you constantly try to unseat your friends and other users from the coveted position of mayor.
The name Foursquare comes from a popular recreation game. The objective of Foursquare is to eliminate players of higher ranks, advance to the highest ranking square, and be there are long as possible. So. Essentially, Foursquare (the mobile phone app) is a giant game you play with your friends and followers.
What I find so fascinating about Foursquare is the product’s potential. Foursquare will evolve into more than just a game. Lately, Foursquare has started alerting users of deals at nearby venues. In addition, mayors are sometimes rewarded with free beer, burgers, and t-shirt. Huge incentives.
Also, I imagine extremely hyper-targeted advertising, where we can know what’s going on (deals, events, etc.) around us at all times- if we chose. For example, you walk into a store, check-in and receive a coupon for a competitors store next door… companies playing Foursquare to gain market share.
That, is a game changer.
Foursquare was started by Dennis Crowley (@dens) and Naveen Selvadurai (@naveen). In September, they received $1.5 million in funding from Union Square Ventures- the Venture Capital firm of my favorite Venture Capitalist, Fred Wilson (@fredwilson).
