Tagged: foursquare

Dec 08

How to Protect Yourself on Mobile Check-In Applications

By Kelsey Jones

foursquare thumb How to Protect Yourself on Mobile Check In ApplicationsMobile check-in and geo-location applications like Gowalla, Foursquare, Yelp, and Facebook Places can be great for finding out where friends are, gathering badges, and even earning specials. However, for people who aren’t careful, mobile check-in applications can pose a risk, especially if the person in danger of being followed (e.g. via an ex-boyfriend).

However, there are several things a user can do to still take advantage of mobile check-in application perks while being safe and aware of what they are posting online.

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Posted in Et cetera, social media

Dec 08

What is Next For Location-Based Social Applications?

Gowalla announced last week that they integrated FourSquare and Facebook Places’ APIs into their iPhone app, making it easy for users to check into FourSquare, Gowalla, Facebook, and even Twitter all at once.

Take a Good Look in the Mirror, FourSquare
Mashable claimed that the “ball is now in FourSquare’s court”, as FourSquare could simply ban Gowalla from accessing their API. However, I believe that this is a bad idea. In order to use Gowalla’s new integration, users will still have to sign up for a FourSquare account if they want to post on FourSquare. Instead of focusing on how they can prevent this integration, FourSquare should instead take a long, hard, look on why they didn’t do it first. Maybe they thought Gowalla wasn’t even in their realm of competition. Maybe they believed that their over 4 million users would never go over to Gowalla.

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Posted in social media

Nov 29

How Foursquare Helped Me Become a Gym Rat

“I don’t want to go!” I thought to myself as I left work and remembered my gym bag in the front seat of my car. I had everything all ready to go– iPod, running shoes, outfit, all that was left was my motivation, which I seemed to have lost somewhere between 8-5.

FourSquare Logo 300x200 How Foursquare Helped Me Become a Gym RatBut then I remembered– I have a Mayorship to win on FourSquare. An athletic, early 30s man and I had been battling the last few weeks for the Mayorship of the community center I use to work out. You become the Mayor of a business on Foursquare by basically being the one who “checks-in” there the most.

And sadly enough, the thought of becoming the Mayor of a gym– a place where I picture happy, athletic, toned people gladly working out every day– was motivation enough to get me to the gym that day. While I never regret going to the gym, I often mentally try to push myself in the opposite direction of it on my way there.

I am now not only the Mayor of my community center, but I also got the Foursquare “Gym Rat” badge for having over 10 check-ins at a gym in 30 days! And while I can’t proclaim that I now go to the gym every day Monday-Friday (let’s be honest here), I can say that I am definitely deserve of the Gym Rat badge I received. Accomplishing something, even though it is an online something, has helped me get into the habit of working out regularly, usually 3-4 days per week. I can say that I’ve managed to tone up and also reach the gym status where you and the others working out acknowledge each other.

So, for me, Foursquare Mayorship status and fellow Gym Rat acknowledgement may just be more important than the number on the scale.

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Posted in social media

Dec 04

Creating a Niche for Mobile Internet and Social Networking

With the majority of Twitter updates and interactions done on other applications besides the actual Twitter website, along with updates to other social media sites via text, mobile social networking is becoming more and more popular as more people get internet-ready phones that allow them to check their accounts on the go.

Mobile Websites
Mobile websites were the first attempt at adapting the internet for cell phones. Now they have become more and more regular and many websites can now detect if a user is accessing their website from a mobile device and can display the mobile version of their website instead of the ‘regular’ internet browser version.

Mobile websites usually are text-only versions of sites and contain easier navigation and sometimes less content. However, some websites give you the option to switch to the ‘regular’ version if desired.

Mobile Applications
Companies have recognized this trend and have attempted to adapt accordingly. Many social networking sites like LinkedIn and Yelp have created mobile applications for smart phones like the iPhone and the Palm Pre that make it easy for users to use their website without having to be at a computer.

The growing popularity of mobile communication has helped Twitter grow more than 300% percent in the last year due to the instantaneous nature of tweets. It’s not uncommon for Twitter uses to tweet messages like, “On my way to the airport. Excited to be back in New York” or “Standing in line for the new Twilight movie.” These types of updates are allowing people share snippets of their everyday activities, instantly and from their cell phone.

In addition, phone manufacturers have welcomed the trend of growing ‘mobile dependence’ and are making it as easy as possible to use your cell phone for almost every digital transaction. Besides the ability to open and even edit some documents and spreadsheets, many phones can load regular webpages and some phones come pre-loaded with mobile versions of YouTube.

Services Built for Mobile
Besides websites and major brands building mobile applications for users to access on the go, a few web services have popped up that were created solely for mobile social networking. Two of the most popular are Loopt and FourSquare. With the use of GPS, these services allow you to ‘check-in’ on where your friends are and what they’re doing, see the latest reviews of restaurants and other establishments near you, and interact with friends who may be nearby.

As the idea of instant and constant open communication becomes more accepted, it wouldn’t be surprising for mobile social networking services to grow in popularity. Connecting with friends and family no longer has to rely on a phone call or random encounter. Loopt and FourSquare allow you to find out where your friends are, invite them to where you are, and even learn who else is using these services in the business you are in.

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Posted in Business, Et cetera