Do you, ahem, Foursquare? Perhaps you should.

I read on Mashable that Foursquare has just clocked its 40 millionth check in.  If you've not heard of Foursquare, it is location specific social networking; its very big in the US where WiFi is better established, but is growing in the UK too- there's  even an entry for Cambridge University Library.

The idea is that you use your mobile device to log your location and interact with others.  In the library setting it might be seeking help or organising visits to the Tea Room; your device scanning the area for your Facebook and twitter friends.  Each location also has a 'mayor', and you can gain prizes and rewards for your social interactions- very clever when you consider the popularity of social networking games of the Farmville ilk.

Where Foursquare is really making an impact is in how it interacts with the commercial sector.  Foursquare users can share short reviews and recommendations on everything from films to cocktails to food in the locations they happen to be.  Eager to be part of the instant buzz this can create, businesses are offering special deals to Foursquare users.

I'm going to leave all the safety concerns about sharing your geographical locations with others aside for the moment, although lots of people have voiced concerns.  What makes Foursquare so interesting fro me is the way that it has successfully blended social and work interaction with the commercial sphere; this is probably what interests Facebook too.

Facebook is about to go local, which may concern Google as Facebook's ability to market targeted ads will now become localized.  McDonald's are going to be first to try it and I predict that the coffee guys, in all their incarnations will not be far behind.  In practice this may mean that as I'm a member of a Facebook group called Burger Thursday, I may need never hunt around for a McDonald's again.  Joy.

Over a year ago I posted an article (initially on Facebook) about how twitter was changing our interactions with each other, the piece was prompted by a Facebook redesign incorporating twitter-style status updates. I said in that article:

"Twitter more than Facebook is becoming the place where business and pleasure and meeting."

Facebook was playing catchup then and I think they still are.  The library fan pages we set up haven't been the dynamic, interactive start pages we hoped they'd be, undergraduates are more likely to listen in to our twitter feeds to find out about events at the library.  I'm not saying Foursquare is the next big thing, but something like it will be: something mobile, which allows users to connect with each other and with business in a way that suits them.  


Further Reading:


Foursquare Seeks to Turn Nightlife Into a Game - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
Why Foursquare Drives Business: What You Need to Know | Social Media Examiner

When is Twitter not Twitter? When it's Facebook? (part of import week)

Fab article I read today:

http://citizenl.net/2009/03/why-twitter-is-not-facebook-and-why-some-people-think-it-is/

I'm going against the grain here as I picked this up from someone I'm following on twitter and retweeting it for the benefit of Facebook friends and colleagues. I don't think that implicit and explicit networks are immiscible, but I do think it is a one way street: I might want to spread some techie/geek/librarian news to a wider audience, but I certainly wouldn't want to direct my twitter followers to 'my mate's had a baby, LOL!!!*'

When I first started using twitter it really was just a feed, a regular update of your activities and ideas. Aptly described as micro-blogging it allowed you to keep track of people, institutions, entities and even (I'm sad to admit I did) fictional characters. Increasingly I feel it is becoming more voyeuristic: I'm checking my TweetDeck to see if anyone has responded to my tweets, I'm responding to their tweets. It's less like following and creating a trail than it used to be.

COPAC has recently decided to follow all of its followers, allowing them -if they have the time- to keep an ear to the ground and find out what its users want. I've enjoyed being able to interact with them in this fast, informal way; I've had great results from it, results which have been invaluable in a work context. The BL and the UL haven't followed this approach and they don't seem to encourage direct messages. At first I thought it staid, but perhaps this is a more purist approach. I want institutions and certain entities (journalists, newspapers, for example) to provide me with information, I want to follow what's going on there; I don't really need them to be my friend.

Twitter more than Facebook is becoming the place where business and pleasure and meeting. I think if we keep in mind what we want from our explicit and implicit networks we can make this a useful mix of networks rather than a car crash.

* Yes, typing LOL!! was like dragging my nails down a blackboard.