Foursquare Ain't No Fad and Here's Why

The big debate about Foursquare (read my original blog post for a Foursquare primer if you need it) right now is: Is it just a passing fad or will it be the next Twitter? Anyone who knows me knows that Foursquare has joined Facebook and Twitter as a regular part of my vocabulary (my poor husband and co-workers!), because I think Foursquare is here to stay and I want to tell you why!

1) It will save you money!

There is a huge trend right now of couponing, online contests, etc. -- any way to save money in this economy that has many of us cash-strapped. Did you know that all you have to do to save money at some stores and restaurants is download Foursquare for free to your phone and "check in" there? Yep, easy as that. Some places require you to be the "mayor," which means you're the person who's checked in the most at that place in a given week. As examples, Starbucks now gives $1 off their Frappuccinos, for which they're doing a big marketing push, to the mayor and Carrabba's gives a free dessert to the mayor. I think once the couponers (@SouthernSavers, @DealSeekingMom - I'm talking to you) get wind of Foursquare and its power, the masses will hop on -- and as a result, more businesses will start offering deals and it will get big QUICK. Just watch.

2) Tweetdeck added a Foursquare option

Seems like a little thing, right? Nope. For those of us Twitterers who love the functionality of Tweetdeck to filter our tweets, see who we want to see, and monitor hashtags, now we can see in real time what all of our friends are doing on Foursquare, check into a venue via Tweetdeck and insert a shout out, see locations (if they have specials, who's there now) and see profiles (where they are, what badges they have etc.). This will make it much more useful, easy and top of mind for Twitterers. Sidenote: They also added a column for Google Buzz, which I think could be hugely helpful in encouraging use of it, as well.

3) It's got name recognition

Yep, the Today Show pretty much did it when they announced a summer Foursquare promotion to go with their concert series. Now a good bit of America has heard the word Foursquare. The Wall Street Journal has also hopped on the bandwagon, exposing the service to all the smarty pants business types :). Recently I read a great article in Inc. about how companies who grow fast and are most recognized, whether or not they truly have the best product or service in their field, typically are the ones that succeed. For example, Facebook has made tons of boo boos, but they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. I dare someone to try to unseat Facebook! Foursquare does have some prettier competitors like Gowalla. There's also Brightkite and a few others, but I am afraid they have lost. Have you heard of them?

4) It's fun!

Who doesn't want to be the mayor of someplace? It's too fun to compete with your friends, earn points, get silly badges and banter back and forth about who's going to unseat who as the mayor. Foursquare has brilliantly combined fun with social networking.

What do you think? Is Foursquare here to stay? Why or why not? Let's get a debate rolling!

About Lyn Mettler
Lyn is the mother of two young boys, a social media nerd and the founder of Step Ahead Inc., a company which combines the best of traditional public relations with social media campaigns and Internet marketing to maximize visibility for clients both online and off. She is the social media featured blogger for TwitterMoms.com and also blogs regularly on her company Web site. Follow her on Twitter at @webprgirl

Tags: foursquare, tmfc, tmmoney&business

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Comment by Lyn Mettler on June 1, 2010 at 6:19pm: Oooh, good point Karen! Love it!

Comment by Karen Lisa on June 1, 2010 at 6:14pm: I think Foursquare is great because it's social media that requires you to get out rather than sit on your butt. ;)

Comment by Lyn Mettler on May 30, 2010 at 5:47pm: Michelle and Nikki, just friended you both!

Comment by Martini Mama on May 28, 2010 at 8:07pm: i think you are right too! I love foursquare, if anyone wants to add me my name is Nikki412 on there! :)

Comment by Lyn Mettler on May 28, 2010 at 10:32am: Oh well... :) You'll have to check in a lot on Facebook and Twitter so they can start to ask you what it is and what you're doing.

Comment by Michelle Stanley on May 28, 2010 at 10:09am: Yep, that yielded one "friend" who I don't really "know"....... so still waiting. ;)

Comment by Lyn Mettler on May 27, 2010 at 2:29pm: Have you tried running it against your Twitter account? Usually you can find lots of friends that way!

Comment by Michelle Stanley on May 27, 2010 at 2:06pm: Nice article, very informative.

I think you are right. :) I just signed up and I am still learning the ins and outs, but I can see the potential. Sadly, though none of my friends want to play, so I will sit and wait for it to catch on.

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