JMPR Communication

Foursquare is all the rage.  Every time I log onto Twitter, I see someone “checking-in” from wherever they are hanging out.  It’s a simple concept: you download the geo-location application to your phone and “check-in” whenever you go somewhere.  The more you check-in, the more points you earn.  And if you visit a spot more than anyone else, you become “The Mayor.”  It’s social competition at its best.  And from a personal standpoint, it’s pretty fun.

But lately I have been hearing all this talk about Foursquare being the next thing for corporations.

Foursquare IS:

A (social, mobile) way to find out where your friends are hanging out.

• A recommendation-based guide to your city.
• A game.

Foursquare DOES:

• Integrate nicely with Facebook and Twitter, so people can keep up with your travels where they live online.  (Even if they don’t subscribe to Foursquare.)
• Provide free location-based business (crowd-sourced) promotions for local retail joints such as restaurants, salons, etc.
• Offer ad-based campaigns, specifically to promote charities.  See here.

Foursquare for Business:

Local (B2C) businesses clearly benefit from Foursquare.  To me, Foursquare is a “mobile Yelp.”  As a consumer, I take note of those locations where my friends are fighting to be The Mayor.  If my friends love a place, I probably would too, right? And as my friend Natalie pointed out, B2C businesses can utilize Foursquare to bring in customers by rewarding people who earn the Mayor position.  (With badges, free food, discounted services, etc.)

But I’m not sure what the “sell” is for a B2B.  I can only think of two Foursquare uses for a B2B corporation:

• Have employees check in at the start of the work day so management knows they are present. (This would be lame.)
• Connect executives with potential customers and/or media at tradeshows, such as CES. (This would actually be cool.  But can’t you do this on Twitter?)

Too New to Tell…

Foursquare has a few inherent problems:

• They have time restrictions.  You can check-in anytime you want, but you only get points during certain hours.
• Anytime you use a location-based service, you put yourself at risk.  It’s not smart to check-in when no one is home.  (Hello robbers!  Take my stuff!)  And it’s not smart to check-in during the workday if you’ve called in sick.  How long until someone gets fired because of a Foursquare update?

In my opinion, the biggest problem Foursquare has is check-in fraud. (And I’m not the first to ask the question.) They currently run on the honor-system, which means anyone can check in wherever they’d like- there or not.

Yesterday while sitting in my office in San Diego, I tested this out and checked into Madison Square Gardens in New York City.  It worked brilliantly.

Foursquare Honor System

In theory, I could check-in to the bar in town which continually changes Mayorship… from my living room.  How mad would those people be? Am I the only one who thinks Foursquare should limit me to my actual GPS location?

Until some of these issues get ironed out, Foursquare will just be a fun little game I play for pleasure.  It is intriguing, and I plan on participating.  I’m not sold on business value… yet.

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