Foursquare, which offers an iPhone app for mobile browser experience, works by letting you tell the app where you are and then lets your friends know where to find you. All you need to do is check-in via SMS (text to 50500) or mobile app.
Using the Foursquare iPhone app, you can automatically check-in and post shouts based on where you are and what you’re doing. You can also find your friends, search venues, earn badges, and add friends.
Since you can add your favorite Twitter friends and auto-post your check-ins to Twitter (Twitter), Foursquare provides a convenient way to connect your Twitter network with your every on-the move activity. You can even allow Foursquare to send your friends DMs when you check-in.
Why you should care
Foursquare is in a position to be a boon for businesses. In the same way that savvy business owners can tap into the Yelp (Yelp) community to promote and encourage reviews, they can tap into Foursquare check-ins to get people talking about their establishment and rewarding them for their patronage.
As is, businesses in thriving Foursquare hubs like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are already tapping into the potential that the location-based social game offers. Take The Marsh cafe in San Francisco — now this is genius — they’ve put up signs indicating that the Foursquare Mayor drinks for free. Think about it. The competition elements of the game mean that they’ve just manufactured a social contest like no other. They’ll get intense mayoral battles, which means more frequent check-ins, and a grip of free online exposure.
Since this side economy has already developed on its own, Foursquare is working on tools to allow venues to more easily offer special deals to those that check-in, including location mayors. They want to be able to support the local business economy with tools and tracking, and in turn find a formidable business model that they can take to the bank themselves.
