I signed up and that was it. Real life is more
important than some online application. When you
start missing out important stuff in life just
because you're spending way too much time online
then you might have a problem. I think the next
step is bathroom check-in to see how many times
you've been there and to check on your friends
relief habits.
If this blog post were a movie, one might hear the noise of a record screeching to a halt. Other than some privacy criticisms, I’ve been a Foursquare fan girl since last summer. Lately, however, I’ve found that Foursquare is becoming more of a nuisance than a benefit. Even though the excitement was there whenever I would add onto my 20+ mayorships or equal number of badges, I would still have to ask “Why am I doing this?” So as a trial, last week I deleted the application and resigned my mayorships. You know something? I don’t miss it at all. Here are five reasons why:
1. Distractions - Two weeks ago I went to a San Jose Sharks game. Being a die-hard hockey fan I’m usually the first to shush people who try to talk to me during play. However, I was so focused on earning that elusive Swarm badge (checking in with 50+ people) that due to constantly refreshing HP Pavilion attendees on my BlackBerry, I missed seeing a goal. That was a wake-up call. Maybe it’s a lack of personal control, but it’s something I’ve seen in many Foursquare users. Not to mention, time spent with other Foursquare users often results in banter about Foursquare. I want to talk about more pressing things when I’m with friends. Don’t you?
2. Disappointment - While several venues in my area have started to offer “mayor specials” and “Foursquare specials,” it seemed that they couldn’t execute well on them. My second-favorite pub, for instance, offered a mayor special yet every time I went in there, no one knew what I was talking about. I either had to grumble under my breath or ask for the manager, the latter of which made me feel high maintenance. The bigger issue, of course, was that instituting this mayor special was having the opposite effect on one of its most loyal customers: it was making me want to go somewhere else. Venues may not be ready for this type of technology and are jumping on it too soon. Lack of execution creates disloyal customers.
3. Apathy - I really don’t care where all of my friends are at any given time during the day. One of my friends actually started checking in from his couch and his shower. I soon unfriended him because that’s just ridiculous, but it made me realize that if I want to know where one of my friends are, it’s easy enough to reach out and ask.
