foursquare + groupon = awesome!
after foursquare blew up last year at sxsw it became one of the most highly anticipated mobile applications ever. many, myself included, were anticipating a more robust version of jack dorsey’s twitter. a social media application that would allow us to track our friends, update our status, and truly stay connected to our social network in real-time. however, while i do see some merit inherent to this, i find the application to be obtrusive, a bit creepy, and largely annoying. here’s why.
- privacy issues - while it’s up to me to “check in” once i have visited a designated location in order to earn points, i don’t feel comfortable revealing my location to my network all the time. this kind of functionality opens up all kinds of privacy issues, making it especially easy for stalkers to find and prey upon their targets. all it will take is for one deranged lunatic to use foursquare as a tool to find his victim and the wheels will come off this train.
- too transparent - fantastic, i’m the “mayor of the shanghai terrace restaurant at the peninsula hotel.” in other words, i am a pompous ass who likes treating myself to expensive lunches on a regular basis while my subordinates are slaving away eating subway sandwiches at their desks. personally, i find this to be way too revealing and it can send the wrong messages to people in your network about who you “really are” based on your consumption habits and frequency.
- meaningless rewards - so you’ve earned enough points that designate you as the “mayor of urth cafe.” great, now what? (crickets) the points/badge/rewards system inherent to foursquare and the ability to unlock hidden features is kind of cool, a little bit video gamish, and something that my nieces in third grade would love. however, there is no real tangible value to it other than bragging rights. it’s too bad, because as an advertiser or brand marketer this feature is the holy grail of the application and could be used and exploited with great benefits. more on that later…
- extreme narcissism - connecting your foursquare account to your facebook or twitter feed is absolutely ridiculous, obtrusive and totally narcissistic. “bill is at nordstoms.” “bill is at loeber motors.” “bill is at the aspen st. regis.” “bill is at ristorante di giorgio baldi.” who cares! if i wanted to know where bill was, i would send him a txt msg or call him.
- social guide - do i really want to divulge the location of the hottest new clubs, restaurants, or private parties? uh, no. there’s a reason why i was on the guest list at mansion tonight and you weren’t. it’s bad enough that word of mouth alone can be such a crowd killer, like abbot kinney on a weekend. foursquare can definitely aid in speeding that process up.
- attrition - having to “check in” every time that i visit someplace is exhausting. the inherent nature of this activity will lead to huge attrition rates. if you think that twitter gets dinged for high attrition rates, i would bet that the percentage of fall off on foursquare is 4 squared.
it’s too bad, because i was excited when i first heard about this application and over the past year the number of foursquare users has swelled to over 1mm. however, foursquare is quickly approaching it’s 14th minute of fame, unless their executive team can find a way to monetize the service and make it more compelling to merchants and adopters.
as i mentioned in my 3rd bullet point above, the foursquare rewards system is meaningless. there is a lot of potential in using the application to reward consumers for loyalty and repeat consumption. for example, if foursquare were to enter a strategic partnership with groupon and reward consumers with coupons to their favorite merchants as badges are accumulated, that could have real value. the kind of “real value” that vc groups, merchants, and brand marketers could all get excited about and benefit from.
groupon relies on social networks to raise awareness about their daily specials/coupons with the intent of leading consumers to purchase (or activation) after a designated number has been reached. foursquare brings to the table a unique value proposition of location based technology that enables you to tap into your social network at any time, at any place, and in real-time. groupon has been successful in their ability to provide consumers with a myriad of unique things to do and at a substantial cost savings.
in my opinion, it seems like there is a great opportunity for both companies to figure out a way to work together. while groupon’s success is almost assured at this point, foursquare has yet find a way to monetize their service. perhaps some kind of revenue sharing arrangement for them both, might be the perfect marriage.
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digital-cruise reblogged this from emergedmedia and added:
I couldn’t agree more…
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emergedmedia posted this
