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?

Itching to blog again...but conflicted

I've had this problem before. I genuinely enjoy writing about lots of topics. Generally they tend to group around the following: technology (lots of sub categories in this one), politics, sports & fitness (including weight loss), horses, spirituality. The first 3 are really the most common for me.

But now I feel like I'm hitting a fork in the road where perhaps I should consider specializing a bit and focusing a bit more on my thoughts surrounding my chosen profession and related subjects. I don't know that I want to do it as some ego boost as much I think it would help me sharpen my saw a bit on the subjects I care about. And, I think it might help invite some people I enjoy exchanging ideas with to take part in the conversation versus 143 character quips on Twitter.

Then, I also have school staring at me in August. I think what I'm leaning towards is dividing my blog and perhaps cross-post technology related entries that aren't quite as narrowly focused on identity and access management, which is my passion.

I'd also like to dabble in the design of the blog a bit, and get it a little more to my liking than a simple blogger site. Brian Katz's blog, is a good example of the kind of design I'd like to have for my professional blog.

Any feedback on this would definitely be appreciated.