Comments on: Foursquare According To Four Friends

By: badcox (Brooke Adcox)

badcox (Brooke Adcox) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:17:02 +0000

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Foursquare According To Four Friends | Critical Mass PR [link to post]

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By: Ryan Zuk

Ryan Zuk — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:00:01 +0000

Thanks Anil. (My regrets, your comment got caught in a filter. Thanks for your comment on the blog site layout. It’s fairly new and I’m getting the hang of things.) I agree, serving up content that’s very geo specific is going to be quite interesting. Apparently it’s going to be pretty competitive in the early going too … I see “Facebook Is Working On A Foursquare Killer” http://bit.ly/b4cr80 (as shared by http://twitter.com/gregheadaz).

HyLo looks interesting. Hope to learn more.

By: Ryan Zuk, APR

Ryan Zuk, APR — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:29:34 +0000

Heidi, the game connecting you to your new city of Seattle is interesting to me, and possibly a common use case for veteran foursquare and Gowalla users – if we can call anybody that yet. I’m wondering how interesting it is to make some new discoveries with these apps in a town that has been home for years? I’m going to try that angle. Thanks for your comment.

By: Anil Jain

Anil Jain — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:19:50 +0000

Enjoyed the write up, Ryan (great looking blog site, btw). I believe we are just beginning to see the power and potential of geo-tagging and location-based services. On the LBS side, those applications/services that put the power and control of marketing to ‘locally-relevant’ audiences in the hands of businesses themselves – in a manner that is easy, intuitive and natural – will be the ones to watch.

Local startup HyLo is one of those that everyone should keep on their radar – http://www.hylo.com / http://www.gohylo.com (Disclosure – I am involved with HyLo, advising the founders from inception).

By: Ryan Zuk, APR

Ryan Zuk, APR — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:19:44 +0000

Thanks for your comment Deb. That’s a nice point about understanding the sheer volume of people – and potential patrons – trending at the same location. Seems there is a lot business, friends, fans could do with this. (I’m envisioning thousands of fans checking in at the Super Bowl for example, and a savvy brand doing something about it.)

By: Heidi Miller

Heidi Miller — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:16:28 +0000

Ryan–

Thanks for the writeup. I’ve had thoughts brewing on the business value of Foursquare for a while now, and you’re really pushing them to the fore.

For me, as a user, my “excuse” for constantly logging in via Foursquare was that I am a recent transplant to Seattle, and the game encourages me to get out and explore my new city and see what my new friends are up to and what they recommend.

I agree that I’d like to see the app merged with a more precise GPS like Gowalla. Personally, I have a first-generation iPhone, and it doesn’t have GPS; it usually puts me within a block or two of where I actually am.

And for local businesses, I have to say that the possibilities for promotion and marketing based on location are really fascinating, especially the idea of an immediate, time-sensitive coupon or offer for Foursquare folks.

Can’t wait to see how it’s used.

By: Deb Kolaras

Deb Kolaras — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:11:11 +0000

The recent build that in addition to showing location also shows number of people at the same checkin point – that alone begins to make things more immediately useful to me. If anything, the tips section is underutilized and certainly a powerful touchpoint for businesses to tap into – why not put an offer or coupon right there? Hopefully businesses are paying attention, as I surely am. @bizcoachdeb

By: Ryan Zuk, APR

Ryan Zuk, APR — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:55:55 +0000

Jack, thanks for reading and commenting. Good point about easy exposure for business. I’ll be interested in your test of the Palm Pre beta app. I will test the new foursquare BlackBerry beta – and have to wonder if geo apps etc are going to finally take me over to an iPhone. (Business email has certainly been BlackBerry’s anchor. Will it last?)

By: Ryan Zuk, APR

Ryan Zuk, APR — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:51:42 +0000

Thanks for contributing and commenting Brandon. I’m eager for some of these real-time location-based offers, if only to test out the experience. Hope I don’t regret saying that!

By: Jack Smith

Jack Smith — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:42:37 +0000

I have found myself ‘Checking In’ via FourSquare more and more lately – especially since they just launched there mobile app for the Palm Pre.

I have also been surprised that I get asked by my friends about the places I go, “How was the coffee, your lunch or what was the service like?” That alone tells me it is something that business owners should pay attention to because of the easy exposure it can offer their business.

I know we are just heading down this geo-location path, but I think it is something businesses need to pay attention to now to reap rewards later.