Falling out of love with Foursquare
I know, I used to be a champion for the Foursquare brand but it just isn’t working out anymore.
When I first started using Foursquare in February this year I absolutely loved the platform and I was checking in all over town. I was racking up mayorships & scoring points from the Mornington Peninsula to the heart of Melbourne City. I was setting up new locations every day as so few locations had been set up at that time, and I was given Super User status within weeks. I then took pride in correcting addresses and shutting down duplicates.
My first ever blog post was even about Foursquare, and there have been many since.
But recently I just can’t be bothered anymore.
It started off slowly, I just stopped checking into mundane locations like Coles and shopping centres to begin with. But it’s now progressed to stopping almost all together, even when I’m somewhere I’d once upon a time happily have shown off about.
There are a number of reasons for my about-face.
1. I just don’t want people knowing where I am all the time
I’m not worried about my safety but it’s just not knowledge that needs to be given out so freely. Plus it’s kinda weird when I don’t need to be asked how my weekend was because the would-be asker already knows exactly what I’ve been up to.
2. Mayorships were giving me nothing
In Australia businesses still haven’t embraced the platform and there is only a handful who offer mayorship specials or other deals for using Foursquare. What’s the point of being the Mayor of McDonalds if you can’t even get a free upsize?
3. Not enough people are onboard to make it realistic
Just because you’re the Mayor of Chapel Street certainly doesn’t mean you have been there more than anyone else; you’re just the biggest wanker within a small population of technology nerds.
4. The pings are annoying
Yeah you can turn them off, and I have, but the default setting for any new ‘friends’ is that you receive pings. Can whoever Umair is please stop checking into bed at 3am???
5. Facebook Places has killed any chance for non-social media savvy users joining
Places may not have the mayorships and points scheme that Foursquare does, but for those who aren’t social media nerds, Facebook Places will be enough to satisfy any desire for location-based technology.
I still like the idea that Foursquare can work as a diary, but the only time I really need to use that is when I receive a speeding fine in the mail and I can’t remember where I was going at that time. Oh yes, that was when I was on my way to Festival Hall to see Florence and the Machine (thanks to the accompanying shout).
I’ll still keep my Foursquare account though, and you’ll still see me check-in from time to time. And maybe I’ll even be back in full force some day, but for now Foursquare… it’s not you, it’s me.
Getting the ‘you have been outsted as mayor of…’ emails still hurt though.
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very misscoca 
Great article on FourSquare.
I agree with all your points, although I am still super cautious of the security element especially for women.
The fact that too few retailers and venues take advantage of the loyalty system inherent with FourSquare is disappointing. It does get tedious when your patronage is unrewarded. I am hopeful that this will change in the next 12 months.
Another point I would add to your list is the ability to check in to places – where you really are not. Given the wide range of venues listed and the ability to check in to pretty much any of them the actual accuracy of the FourSquare check -ins is highly dubious! For example I just checked in to Melbourne Grammar from my desk – in Queens Road!
I have a hap-hazard approach to my FourSquare usage, not overly keen but still hoping to see businesses utilize the technology and maybe a more accurate check-in system.
Thanks for the post. 🙂
True, there are no safeguards in Foursquare to ensure that you really are where you say you are. I’ve checked into places from bed before!
I agree completely. I never really got into it, because as a single woman, I just couldn’t justify putting out my location everywhere I went. Just didn’t feel safe. The benefits were not worth the rewards to me. I think if it was more viable, and more people did it, the rewards/benefits would be higher and I’d be more likely to consider using foursquare more frequently.
http://simplysolo.wordpress.com
Thanks for your comment. Safety certainly seems to be the biggest concern among women. However, if you only add those you actually know it shouldn’t be an issue. The only problem there is that hardly any of my ‘real’ friends were users!
Yeah, I’m right there with you. Except, it only took me 3 weeks to wise into the fact that FourSquare gets me nothing (except for potential stalkers) and is a complete waste of time.
It definitely took me a lot longer than 3 weeks! Thanks for your comment Lindsay 🙂
I’m totally behind the times. I just recently got a cell phone (within the last year) because I didn’t want people to be able to find me whenever they wanted. I can’t imagine letting folks know where I am constantly. I miss the days when people didn’t freak out when you didn’t answer your phone. They just knew you weren’t home or weren’t available. And when folks were patient enough to be able to deal with it if you didn’t get back to them until a day after they called.
That being said, I love your post. “Foursquare… it’s not you, it’s me.” Hilarious!
Crystal
http://www.crystalspins.com
Thanks for your comment Crystal.
I agree about the not answering your phone – sometimes I just can’t be bothered! It doesn’t mean something has happened to me… 🙂
great post. I agree with your points, especially since one establishment that is near where I check in, that offers mayors some sweet deals…has been out of business a number of months but it still shows up.
I am still in the honeymoon stages with it though, so still a very active user, but I can see it dwindling in the future.
That’s interesting that a business offering Foursquare deals went out of business!
I agree with you! As soon as Facebook Places came out I knew Foursquare would start to go down hill. And of course, as we all know, Facebook will soon offer badges and stuff since they are soooo good at keeping up with the trends!
I think Facebook Places will have to offer something more than just the ability to say where you are, I can’t see that it will last otherwise. It will be interesting to see what they do!
I think you wrote a good article about Foursquare. I am thinking about checking them out soon.
Good post.
I was excited about Foursquare in the beginning, but grew tired of it rather quickly. The very thought of “checking in” when I’m out trying to have a good time seems tedious and pointless. This is especially true when Foursquare tries to tell me “I’m too far away from the venue” when in fact, I’m right across the street walking TOWARDS the establishment.
Yet some people have the opposite problem – they can check into anywhere no matter where they are!
Same for me with one lone exception – Pinkberry. As Foursquare mayor of my local Pinkberry frozen yogurt shop I am entitled to a free small with my choice of toppings every time I check-in. Needless to say I check in daily since it’s close to home and saves me the $5.36 cost of a small. I’ve eaten this delicious treat free for months now!
You forgot to say it’s BORING
I love this post! I’m fading out with foursquare too. people are taking it WAY too seriously and I’m SO tired of seeing all the tweets about it. Its just not interesting to me anymore. I have a few blog posts about it as well and I’m just getting tired of it.
Great post! You make good points, except I don’t agree on number 5.
Foursquare actually experienced record signups after launch of Facebook Places:
http://mashable.com/2010/08/20/foursquare-new-users-record/
Facebook Places actually was a blessing in disguise for Foursquare and other location based services, because it peeked the curiosity of the masses. Those who are interested enough to get the best out there are migrating to other platforms until Facebook launches more features to Places. As of right now, users cannot compete for points, mayorships or badges easily creating the “why am I doing this?” question to arise earlier.
That’s interesting about Foursquare experiencing a boost in new sign-ups after Facebook Places launched. I wonder what Facebook Places will do to make it more interesting and therefore be competitive.
Thanks for your comments 🙂
Really great post. Self broadcasting has to really have tangible rewards and there isn’t any for that app. While I always appreciated the uniqueness of 4 Square–even though i never used it– its a rather ‘revealing’ little piece of technological wizardry. Seems that women are the biggest users and safety/privacy the biggest concern.
Foursquare was a bad idea in the first place let alone Facebook Places. No one should be told where your exact location is at any given time except for maybe your parents, gf or wife and grandma. Good read. 🙂
my town is so small there are only 4 of us using Foursquare. We basically own the town and are mayors of every shop, restaurant, gas station, art gallery etc.. and my approach too changed. Only starbucks was on line for rewards and i used it a lot! The first time of course, they had no idea what it was but got on board locally, very quickly. Then i used it to map my city. Everything in town is on the Foursquare map. Now i rarely use it here – but i do use it when i go to Vancouver (population over 2 million) and i actually have some competition from a ton of users. Slowly more companies are buying into the rewards, but mostly restaurants that are in the USA only so yes the shine has somewhat tarnished here too.
I agree. I have been on Foursquare since early summer I guess, starting in Denver and then moving to Alaska in early August. While it was fun in Denver where everyone practically uses the platform, I seem to be one of the only ones that uses it up here. You are right becoming the Mayor means little to nothing unless it is the local Starbucks and/or other national chain.
While I have over 1000 updates and more than 22 badges its novelty is wearing off fast.
Thanks for the post,
Dr. Robert Forto
The Dog Doctor Radio Show
Thanks for your comment. It’s interesting that it’s not so popular in Alaska – I assume more businesses are on board in Denver too?
exactly. but i am still using it occasionally but i
a) disabled facebook and twitter sharing
b) confirmed just real friends
c) dont look at my chart position
i do not see a chance of cheating as an issue – i dont want to cheat at foursquare – it gives you nothing 🙂 – as you mentioned with mayorships.
I think you make some excellent points, Destroyer.
I too disabled Facebook and Twitter sharing from the start, mainly because I knew it would annoy my friends/followers and because it was an ever more public broadcast of my whereabouts.
I think confirming only people you know is a good idea also, especially for those concerned about security. Unfortunately in Melbourne, Australia, only a small minority are Foursquare users so I hardly knew any ‘real’ friends. Most were ‘friends’ from Twitter than I didn’t really know anyway…
I agree, Foursquare sometimes does seem a little silly. Usually, I just hate having to sound like an idiot when I explain it to people who don’t know what it is (“Um…well, it’s kinda like a game…?”). That being said though, I would have to say that it has a lot of potential to grow and expand as it becomes more popular. The big thing, I think, is that people these days are leery about location-based social media.
We actually wrote about this over at my blog, Geek Sandwich: http://wp.me/p14I8y-M
Haha yes I agree, sometimes explaining Foursquare can make you sound well… like a complete nerd!
Sounds like you’re a big fan of Foursquare, let me know if you still are in a few months! 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
Good perspective & I do agree with you on your points. As a food blog writer I do keep posting on four square so my readers know what I’m up to. As far as security, I post when I leave the venue and refrain from posting things I do on a routine so no kook can find me (hopefully)
“Checking out” instead of “checking in” certainly seems to be a common practice – thanks for your comment! 🙂
Great posting! Foursquare is the start of Big Brother! Well done!
I agree with your comments. I’ve pretty much stopped using it because repeatedly checking in or being the mayor of a place hasn’t meant anything; moreover, as pointed out, it’s easy to lie about where you are anyways. Also, I don’t understand why people checkin when they get to work every day, it’s just another message I need to delete.
I’m definitely not a fan of checking into work, or even worse, to your own home!
Thank you for pointing out the fact that Foursquare can get boring over time. It’s starting to happen to me too and I know a good friend of mine who won’t use it at all now because he doesn’t see the point. It’s the inevitable result of a technology that relies too heavily on tenuous relationships garnered through random check-ins and hardly scratches the surface of social interactions both Yelp! and Facebook have with their users’ real life interactions.
At least Yelp! facilitates users getting together online. Facebook doesn’t need to to this because it’s already the size of a country. When it comes to Twitter, even Twitter users organize tweetups and use conferences as an excuse to nerd it up with #insert_conference_here hashtags. And this is the key. This is the real “social” presence that drives people. Foursquare is trying to treat their service like Wikipedia, but the reason why people edit Foursquare’s content isn’t for academic knowledge, it’s for finding places to eat, drink, and be merry, which is totally different from Wikipedia.
Foursquare could be a more dominating force in the location-based social network-o-sphere both with businesses and with users if they put more of a warm, personal touch into their business model. Until then, like you so elegantly put it, you’ll just be “the biggest wanker within a small population of technology nerds”. And then you’ll just get bored with checking into the great abyss with no one to acknowledge you and tune out.
I agree, and it’s something I’ve fed back to Foursquare before. You simply cannot interact with your Foursquare friends! If they have linked their account to a Twitter profile you can get in touch with them, but off the Foursquare platform.
I originally thought Foursquare had a lot of potential but there hasn’t been enough developments to improve the service in my opinion to warrant me spending much more time on it.
Thanks for your comments 🙂
It can be quite funny how quickly you can become the Mayor of a place hey?
Thanks for your comment
To some extent, I agree. I only check in if it’s a hot spot, school or I want to make a comment about the particular area I’m in. I check in maybe once or twice a week…
I’m glad you’re keeping it open though, who knows what it’ll do to beat up FB’s Places! =)
Thanks for your comment, I’m definitely keeping it open and we’ll see what happens!
To be honest, I just don’t understand the draw of this application. It seems to be another in the long line of programs that gain incredible amounts of information from its users, while its users receive “prizes” that do not actually give them any benefits. I’m not overly informed on it, so am I wrong about that? In any case, I just don’t feel like having people know where I am at all points of the day…
I absolutely agree with you! I deleted my Facebook account because of the lack of ethics they seem to have in handling people’s private information… Why would I want to tell these companies even more stuff about me? I did a little post on it a little while back: You want Privacy? Really? @ ovenkitty.
There is the potential to be rewarded for you loyalty to a business, but the business needs to be onboard and therefore social media savvy for this to work. So you’re right… there’s not much point other than the ability to discover new places and leave tips – both of which can be done via other means online.
To be honest, I just don’t see what the fascination is with these types of services to begin with – what’s the actual point? I don’t mind when I log in to do my tax and the government has pre-filled half the boxes – I know they have that information anyway – but when it comes to private companies (who are by definition motivated by money) gathering my information, I get very wary. Why would I want to give them more information than I need to, especially when it involves something as physical and personal as my location? Well done for taking a step back!
You definitely need to be careful with how much information you share online now. A friend of mine was on Foursquare and his colleagues were able to almost pinpoint exactly where he lived based on his check-ins. Now that’s scary!
Have you been reading my mind? 🙂 Exactly how I feel after being a FourSquare fan for 4 months now. Especially when “Mayorships were giving me nothing”, I don’t feel excited about getting Mayorship anymore.
I use Foursquare to check into places I want people to know I am at. I’ve never understood the game aspect of it, I don’t care if I am mayor. In fact it could be embarrassing to be mayor of say McDonalds?
I also use Gowalla. That however is the struggling for life runt of the litter.
Not enough places use Foursquare anyway. It’s not enough for retail ourlets e.g a Cafe to say “Thanks for coming back 500 times. Here is a free, smallest cup possible, latte”
There is also a lack of support for businesses for Foursquare. It is nigh on impossible to stickers etc. out of them. They should have massive amounts of them, but no, I have to download a file to take to a printers and pay for the benefit.
Foursquare can work so well. It can really put a place on a map and broadcast out to thousands.
Facebook places, yes, will do for most. But it’s scary.
The fact that others can check you into a place, until you uncheck the box. How does someone think that up and then think it would be cool? If someone put a place on there, you can’t modify or remove it. We have three of the same office location around the city of Melbourne because some of our staff decide to check out what places is while in the city and unwittingly add a location 30km west of where it actually is.
In the end, geo apps are in their infancy. They have so much potential, we just havent really worked out what the massive potential is yet.
I’ve seen someone who was the Mayor of Centrelink too – now that’s embarrassing! Plus I’ve never checked in to McDonalds… even when I was there due to embarrassment!
I agree that there is massive potential yet to be uncovered and in the meantime there will be a lot of problems to be sorted out, like your multiple office locations issue! Facebook Places needs SuperUsers to clean up the mess too it seems!
I couldn’t agree more on this subject. The idea that broadcasting to every creepy Tom, Dick and Harry, that I’m not home, and won’t likely BE home for several hours, is just insane to me. No matter the residual goodies that come from being active on Foursquare, having my house cased sort of trumps them. Great post.
Good point on not wanting everyone to know where you are not. Funeral notices in the paper used to have the deceased person’s address and then the time of the funeral. You’d think the “powers that be” would be wise to this type of stuff now.
Nice post here!
Agree, still use foursquare a tiny bit, haven’t tried FB places yet, I can’t be bothered unless there’s more value in it
The security & stalker element is a big factor
I couldn’t agree more! I deleted the App about a month ago, and I watched as my husband and 22-year old daughter continued to “duke it out” on their own for Mayorships of our local gym. Even they lost interest in the in-house fun rivalry, and just today, my daughter announced that she was too bored to keep this up and so, like me, she’s deleting the app. It’s too bad that they couldn’t make it worthwhile, but I played only for the Mayorships and badges, but those, so infrequently awarded, were too “square” “4” me to keep going!
And I bet your husband and daughter weren’t the two most regular gym visitors, yet can still be the only two ‘mayors’. But yes, if it’s just you and the same person consistently battling it out, the interest will dwindle quickly.
Lol @ too square 4 me to keep going
Loved this blogpost. While I’ve checked out Foursquare, and I’m definitely not a luddite, I’ve never actually bothered to try to use Foursquare, partly out of laziness, partly from a lack of a good smartphone. Mainly, though, I am not narcissistic enough to want people to know where I am at any given nanosecond, nor do I want corporations to have that info either. Have you seen the movie Minority Report? Ever wonder where that kind of advertising tech starts? Yep right there on location-aware social media. Good on you for recognizing the shallow benefits and intrusive effects and saying No to it.
Thanks for your comment.
It certainly does make you think that since we now have location-based social media, what next??
Hi Miss Coca,
Yessss, the whole stalker issue of letting literally million of potentially strangers know not only precisely where I am right now but also the history of exactly where I like to “hang” is just to much, especially for women who are still all too-often the targets of stalking. Men get it too. I do recommend a lot of privacy and personal safety precautions for singles who pursue love online. It’s ALL social networking. Caution is wise.
Sincerely,
April Braswell
Hi April,
Thanks for your comment. Security and safety definitely seems to be the biggest concern for women with Foursquare. We are getting too relaxed with it these days I think, we all need to be more cautious with our information!
🙂
How about the most important reason to not use Foursquare:
NOBODY cares.
Most 4sq users don’t seem to understand that a) It’s possible to not integrate Twitter with Foursquare, and b) It’s god damn obnoxious. Foursquare is a marketing tool, plain and simple, and it preys on our generation’s narcissistic tendencies to share EVERYTHING we’re doing. Nobody cares where you are, what you’re eating, or which TV program is melting your flat-screen’s internal lamp (Gomiso users are even worse than Foursquarers).
I don’t need global coordinates of the shoe store you’re browsing or the specialty cupcake shop you frequent for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s much more personal and inviting to simply post a quick tweet saying where you are and what you’re doing, and if you get other people interested enough, they’ll want to seek out those places themselves rather than rely on your impersonal, bloodless auto-tweets.
People like to brag about their badges, mayorships and all the cool little extras they get for earning such “rewards”. They neglect to ask themselves if 25% off an already overpriced cup of premium coffee is worth alienating followers and relinquishing all privacy. Besides, if you have a smartphone and transportation to go from place to place, isn’t it safe to assume that you can already afford all these cheap gifts businesses throw at you to be an unpaid marketing drone?
I’ve unfollowed people on Twitter for overuse of Foursquare and I’ve even reported some as spammers. It’s enough already. The oversharing is immensely obnoxious. You want to be mayor of your local gas station? Fine. Disable Twitter posts from your Foursquare settings and keep it between you and the other “players”.
I certainly agree that Foursquare users should disable automatic posts to Twitter and Facebook and I can understand your reasons for unfollowing/unfriending those who share the posts.
Thanks for you comments! 🙂
Agreed. I thought it was all really cool at first, too, but then it just got to be tedious to check in at places. I also didn’t like arriving somewhere (like a restaurant) with someone (like my husband) and immediately having my phone out – usually messing around with Foursquare led to messing around with other things, and that’s just rude.
And beyond all that, who really cares, anyway? 🙂
Ah another excellent point! Yes I used to be that annoying person who had to check-in everywhere straightaway, and now when someone else does it I find it really frustrating too.
Thanks for your comment 🙂
Personally I don’t use FourSquare at all, but I think most of common Social Websites become BigBrothers Database, and it’s finally not enough safe to share places where we’re !
I’ve tested Facebook Places, it works well but we can’t choose to show an approximative location instead of choosing a precise location.
Nice post here!
Agree, still use foursquare a tiny bit, haven’t tried FB places yet, I can’t be bothered unless there’s more value in it
The security & stalker element is a big factor
hahaa,,, agreed,,!!!
plus, it’s annoying to only able to check in via mobile web, while we can reach wi-fi signal around the places we’ve been…
by the way, i still use it for fun,,,
how is facebook places?
Facebook Places also allows you to check-in to places that don’t exist – I’ve seen someone this week checking into ‘Your Mum’s House’.
But yes, Foursquare can still be used for fun, but to be competitive you really have to use it all the time.
Thanks for your comment 🙂
Heh, quite timely your post should pop up on my dashboard. The last few days I’d been considering getting into FourSquare in Melbourne, I could see some mild appeal in becoming the Mayor of places I go heaps. But then I thought, what would be the point? No one I know uses it. I suppose I could beat some stranger to become Mayor since my favourite places had Mayors with like 3 visits. And no places would have benefits.
Meh
It can be quite funny how quickly you can become the Mayor of a place hey?
Thanks for your comment 🙂
I suppose you could ask this of anything, but what was Foursquare for? Whatever purpose it might have had would have been hugely dependent on people using it. And on businesses using it. Yet, as you’ve pointed out, neither had any incentive to.
Foursquare survived on its novelty alone. Personally, I’m surprised it took Facebook to drive the final nail in. We’ll now see a wave of new users – tenfold in number – start signing in for that novelty, and stop when they get bored of it.
Unless Facebook decides to do it differently in some meaningful way, people will once again realise that it’s actually kind of stupid to let every man and his dog know where and when you’re out and about.
Yes it will definitely be interesting to see where Facebook takes its ‘Places’, they will have to do more than there is currently to keep users engaged!
Thanks for your comment 🙂
Foursquare started out strong, but it is fading fast. Its become glitchy, folks abuse it and there are other alternatives out there for businesses. its a shame as these same businesses were starting to take Foursquare seriously too. It will be interesting to see if it survives, but I have questioned them several times and NEVER even got the courtesy of a reply of any type.
My opinion, they are in over their heads now and the walls are falling in!
Yes it is quite glitchy and was down for most of yesterday too! I often had problems using the iPhone app for checking in.
I’ve downloaded Four Square to my iPhone but haven’t even used it yet because like what you were saying, Facebook’s Places is pretty much the same thing and it kills two birds with one stone. However, I think Four Square covers most Smart Phone users so that’s a plus. This dance club I go to often in DC, called Town, let’s you get in for FREE if you show the bouncer on Four Square you checked-in at Town for the night. So I guess it still has it’s uses.
Well that’s definitely a benefit for using it! Even if you use it in an ad hoc manner to just claim those good deals. Do you think the Foursquare deal brings more people to the club though?
My biggest frustration w/FourSquare is that even though I’m usually near Alpena, within 50 miles thereof, FourSquare insists I’m in Caseville, where I’ve ‘never’ been. I agree, too, that there should be some sort of reward for visiting and visiting besides a Mayorship or a bunch of useless badges.
I started out excited but now rarely use. I also really don’t want FourSquare “friends”. I have enough of those on FB!
There is the potential to be rewarded for you loyalty to a business, but the business needs to be onboard and therefore social media savvy for this to work. So you’re right… there’s not much point other than the ability to discover new places and leave tips – both of which can be done via other means online.
I’m still in the FourSquare game. But I do agree about not enough people on it to make it enjoyable. To be honest, I like to use it more of a journal of where I’ve been than really to compete and have fun with others. You could always just use it for the big and rare places you’ve been and not the everyday places you go to. I wish more places would give out treats or discounts for mayorships. That would be awesome. Good post.
This is sad. I hope this doesn’t happen to me, soon..
I’m still loving foursquare. As for checking into mundane locations, it isn’t that much effort, and viewing it more as a game and less as a way to get discounts is probably more realistic at this point. People still need to embrace it, and soon, business will implement them and foursquare will have a purpose.
Until then, spread the word, raise awareness, and enjoy it as a geolocation game!
Ran across this blog post of yours… just curious if you are still against foursquare… or if you have reconsidered it in recent months!!
Hi Dwayne. I still have an account, and will check in from time to time (maybe once per month) but I’m still just not into it. Thanks for stopping by! m
Wait guys! Mostly all of the issues pointed at the top have solutions developed long time ago.
The only thing Foursquare needs to keep on track is to encourage or motivate users to participate in the Super Users Program and the Ambassador Program.
This two programs allow users to edit venues, so the venues’ database keeps clean (super users) and to persuade bussines owners to join Foursquare (ambassadors) so more specials (offers) come up.
Foursquare is a GREAT idea (it is so democratic, since the same users give the information) and FAR AWAY the best solution to know the important information about restaurants.
DONT GIVE UP!!
@koo1981