Despite my earlier protests on this blog, I caved in and started using Foursquare. I previously had little interest about advertising where I was or where I was spending money. The former, I figure I could just Tweet when I wanted, and the latter, I still find a bit gauche. However, the tipping point for me was the introduction of coupons and other loyalty deals. Out one night with a friend, she pointed out that the club we frequented offered a free drink for every check-in. I always love a discount or a bargain, so I immediately signed up on my phone.
That was about a month ago and I’ve continued to use Foursquare since, though not with an automatic link to my Twitter or Facebook accounts. I still like to keep a little bit of mystery about my specific comings and goings, but I have enjoyed scoring random freebies at restaurants and bars, and discounts at other places. I found the best deals so far of my Foursquare life on a recent trip to New York. Miami businesses still seem to be catching on; many of the deals here are for corporate chains, or require many check-ins for small returns.
Still, I enjoy the rewards at places I already frequent, and for the novelty factor, I’ve decided on a lunch spot, for instance, based on the Foursquare app telling me what deals are available nearby. I know there are similar deals on Yelp and Facebook location services, but so far Foursquare seems to have the most deals and users in this realm. I probably would never check in on Facebook places, though, as I’m wary of logging my locations in a site with a publicly professed disregard for privacy.