Call Me Square, But I Don't Get Foursquare

Today, a friend sent me an invitation to join Foursquare.

Frankly, between Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, I feel I'm more than covered in terms of my social media coverage.

I primarily use Facebook for my personal use, to reconnect and stay in touch with people from my past and present, to brag about my kids and share the occasional joke. (Okay, I also bring in my work life by posting links to this blog. But primarily so my friends and family can get a sense of what I do for a living. I did, however, open a Facebook page for our agency, too.)

I find LinkedIn to be incredibly valuable as an alternative to resumes. I use it for looking for talent, checking on prospective clients, and seeing who's been checking on us. It's also a great place to join in business-related discussions.

As for Twitter, I use it strictly for professional purposes. If I see an interesting article about a topic that interests me, I might share it with my peers. I'll also let them know when I have a new post on this blog. And I'll occasionally use it to speak one on one with someone.  But that's about it. I never could understand those who feel the need to tweet about what they're having for dinner.

Over the years, I've received many invitations to join other social networks that seemed very similar to LinkedIn and Facebook. I even signed up for a few of them before realizing that they were more trouble than they were worth. Who has time to keep up with all these things?

I had been hearing a lot of buzz about Foursquare and knew it was different enough to merit a look. At the site I watched a video that in very simple terms, explained the purpose of the network: "Check-in. Find your friends. Unlock your city."

You use it to let others continuously know where you are and what you think of it. If you post a lot about an establishment, you may be able to earn special rewards at that place. If you are the person who posts the most from there, you are deemed its "Mayor."

I understand that I don't fit into Foursquare's demographic. I'm sure that it will come in very handy for programs that we develop for our clients. It's really kind of neat.
 
But frankly, I don't have an urge to tell people where I am. If I'm not at work, I'm probably at home. And there, I'm the "King of the Castle."





-Mark