Foursquare mobile social network
Foursquare is newest online social network site that might be the next twitter. Do you have what it takes to be the major of your city? This post is about the definition and rules of foursquare. However, I will also add my two cents about this iphone - mobile site.
What is four square?
You check in at various locations and describe your experiences there. You can uncover a happening scene or give heads up on a place that is lame. The name means on all four corners of your city. You earn badges and rankings by helping others explore your city via a mobile and handheld device. At the core it is a game with a social aspect. If you are the top you can become a mayor in your city, that is an authority at least in terms of the social scene in your town.
Your interaction is by iphone, cell phone, Android app, blackberry etc. This is total instant gratification for those who are addicted to their mobile phones. The hook that foursquare game uses to get people to join is that if you use it a lot, then you might win free hotel stays etc. My take on this give away incentive is a hotel stay is worth maybe 200 dollars and the time might be better spend simply working for it. I do not know maybe I am foolish.
The rules are simple, the more you contribute and people like your contribution you earn points. This gives it the addictive play, that is a combination of a game and positive feedback from your peers. But like pogo.com (which I love) there is a game aspect to it and badges but mostly because I like to play chess.
How did foursquare take off? I think they had a nice marketing budget to break into the top ten thousand at Alexa so fast. I think this because to make a social media site work today, takes a large war chest or intelligent marketing at least, both is best, but I have found that both is often mutually exclusive. Their target market I think is from ages eighteen (or younger) to twenty eight years old maximum. I can not image anyone with a family playing around too much on foursqaure phone social.
The hub of this site is NYC, but of course it is the whole world and every city.
I gave up my cell phone as it was an expense, I am not convinced about the long-run safety of cell phones, and they are a distraction from real life. But read the real reason why you will not see me on foursquare.com.
Why I will not join Foursquare
I am not a big fan of social sites like “foursquare social” only because I do not have the time. I am married and it is more for singles. I have a family and my own business. I sometimes check my facebook and vkontatke.ru (I am a slavophile) accounts.
My tweeter account has fallen to the waist side. I have removed all social media links on my site as I do not want my sites cluttered with non-relevant links that produce low quality traffic that does not convert. People swear by social media and Google.com has even embraced it somewhat. But I do not believe it.
I am a social media skeptic based on the principle that time is a scares commodity and time efficiency counts if you want to develop your business . All the time I spend on these sites like foursquare, I could be spending with my real life friends and family or writing content on my blog. Therefore, I am firmly ant-social media.
The irony is I have a social media site of my own. I have not gotten a chance to jump start it, but it is a real niche site for geeks, which I will not even mention the name yet. I might in the end scrap it.
Foursquare feedback
In conclusion, if you want to see what foursquare is like you can review it and then write a comment here and let me know what you think.
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