Saturday, June 9, 2012

I really don't get FourSquare...

I saw someone I follow on Twitter waste my glance by checking into the following places:

Lowe's
Kohl's
Best Buy
Home Depot

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot? What is the point of "checking in" to these mundane places, and then tweeting about it??? Don't get me wrong, I know part of social media is ego driven. I'm guilty of it too. But I'm also considerate enough not to spam you with irrelevant posts like that. While I know no one is going to find everything I say interesting, I at least put some effort into it.

That said, I have been known to check in on occasion on Facebook when I'm doing something novel (well, at least I think it is), like seeing the Foo Fighters for the first time in concert (awesome doesn't begin to describe that show), or attending a cool exhibit at Discovery Place. I might even check in at a cool restaurant I really enjoyed. That's about it.

This isn't intended to put people on the defensive if they use FourSquare in this fashion. I'd just like to understand the value they get from a site like that. Twitter has become a great resource for me to exchange professional banter while adding random thoughts on sports, politics, etc. It is also a nuisance when everyone is attending the same conference (mostly because I'm jealous because I'm not there), or one of the sports writers I follow is live tweeting a game.

I'm not even sure why I'm ranting on this. Just wanted something to talk about I guess. /shrug

In the end I guess I'm just asking: why do you use FourSquare and what value does it provide?

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