The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, 3rd Edition

Foursquare

Foursquare is the biggest LBS (as of the time this chapter was written) with over 15 million members checking in over 3 million check-ins per day. Launched at SXSW (South By Southwest) on March 11, 2009, by Dennise Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai, the New York City–based LBS company allows you to check in at the location you are at to share with your Foursquare friends, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers where you are and what you are doing.

Foursquare has an easy-to-use interface and a 140-character limit. Users unlock the world around them: what specials are near by (based on your geolocation), check into places to share your current activity, leave tips, know what your friends are doing and where, share pictures with your check-in (these should be related to the place you are at, such as food, artwork, performances, and so on), add new places, and identify different types of places that are in your immediate area.

Understanding the Tool

• Activity—This can be compared to the Facebook news feed or the Twitter timeline, where you see what your friends are doing, where, and how long ago.
• Daily Deals—Partnered with daily deal companies like Groupon and Living Social, Foursquare shares with users when local deals are near by.
• Events—With so many people creating new events for movies, concerts, parties, and other events, Foursquare added the events option so when users are at specific locations, they can check in to an event at that location rather than creating a new ...