Just wait until these posts, check ins, tweets & whatnot wind up as a vast database of where you are, have been and are likely to go.
Yeah, reading that back it sounds a bit 1984-ish, but then again a lot does these days.
Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
11–18 of 18 posts
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#12I'm impressed by the number of commenters on the article defending 4sq. A friend of mine regularly meets up with people when they are nearby on foursquare. I don't really hang out with internets people so don't receive that benefit. When I did use it, I found checking in a little antisocial and obnoxious. Who uses foursquare? People who want to be perceived by others as the things that they do (Gym, Tanning, Laundry)…
I think it also depends a lot on where you are. Being a NYC based company (and that NYC is a high population density city) I've found it useful here (both with people I actually know on it as well as a quick way to look up tips about places nearby). That being said, when I've been in other cities that aren't NYC/SF the value drops quite a bit (I don't have friends in those cities that use it and the number/quality of tips on places isn't the same). The anti-social aspect is probably the biggest issue for really using it when you're out.
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#13I used foursquare for about 3 weeks. I comment on HN because I want people to start recognizing my name. I post to twitter because I want a large follower base I can bounce ideas off and tell about things I'm working on. I answer questions on quora because there are a lot of wealthy, influential people on there and I want them to know I'm a developer trying to make his way in this world. The point is, I need to get s…
personally, i find foursquare, gowalla, and the like criminally useless.
the aggregation of all this location data and the sum result of either sharing your location with your friends or seeing an absolutely barebones of the establishments around you, without any context, doesn't result in a useful experience for me, at all.
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#14Foursquare is the Friendster of location based services. First in the space to take advance of the technology but having trouble moving past the initial novelty. We're still waiting on the Facebook of location based services. (And Facebook isn't it)
agreed! though with deals, they are adding temporality to the service, which is definitely a step in the right direction.
if no one fills this void within the next year or two, i think they will be well poised to do so.
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#15This reminds me of how everyone used to criticize Twitter because they thought it was just people tweeting about the mundane details of their lives. We are still very early in the location space and most of the more compelling potential uses have yet to be discovered.
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#16Foursquare: The Internet's very own Whistle Tips pandemic
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#17I used foursquare for about 3 weeks. I comment on HN because I want people to start recognizing my name. I post to twitter because I want a large follower base I can bounce ideas off and tell about things I'm working on. I answer questions on quora because there are a lot of wealthy, influential people on there and I want them to know I'm a developer trying to make his way in this world. The point is, I need to get s…
I think you're on to something here, I know there are a lot of utilities to consolidate loyalty cards, but tying together loyalty cards with social could be huge. Stamps and cards for the old fogeys, QR codes for technophiles. When you redeem your free coffee it posts to facebook/twitter, etc. More advertising for the business, less cards for the consumer, and invaluable insight into consumer purchasing.
Facebook places does this through their deals system, but you still have to manually check in. The only location service I know of that is always on is google latitude, but it's accuracy isn't always perfect.
Re: Foursquare: Despite 5 Million Users, It’s Still Dumb
#18I think the idea of keeping a log of places I've been to is fairly interesting -- especially if there's a good aggregation/search functionality to it, so I can see how many times I go to my favorite restaurant, what places I went to on this day last year, etc. But it's a pretty simple thing to build, and I'd prefer to build it on my own (pay with my time) than use foursquare for it (pay with my privacy).
There are a few secondary things that foursquare does that have some potential, though, notably notes from your friends about what to do/eat/see nearby you that appear when you check in somewhere.