Foursquare: Better Tool For Marketers or Stalkers?
If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may be aware of the differences in opinions on the trendy geo-tagging application Foursquare here at Bailey Gardiner. I was first introduced to the application last year at the PRSA conference in San Diego, where event participants were checking-in and sharing information about events they were attending, and where they were hanging out afterward. Because I am one of those Twitter users that loves sharing good restaurants, great finds or cool experiences with my followers, I immediately jumped on the Foursquare bandwagon.
I’ll admit that it took me awhile to really like the application. But after a few months (and a high-energy fight for Mayorship of my local Target with other bloggers in the area) I began to really see Foursquare’s value. While I will agree with Jon that not everyone needs to know when I’m bra shopping, I do find it interesting to see other people’s patterns: where they like to shop and eat on a regular basis, and where they have gone so many times that they are mayor. Putting on the marketing hat, I also think it’s a great way to promote establishments and offer deals and specials to friends, clients and customers in your immediate area.
Recently, I had an appointment at my hair salon, and while I was waiting for my stylist, I checked-in via Foursquare. Being a proponent of supporting local businesses in my area, my main goal was to give my salon a virtual “shout out.” After checking-in, I received a sponsored coupon from a small, local establishment down the street; they were offering a half-off deal for people checking in. Having seen these specials before from larger corporations such as Starbucks and Chili’s, I was really excited to see a local bar embracing this form of marketing. Thinking of the positive aspects of Foursquare, I started mentally writing this blog post in my head.
Then about half-way through my appointment, I received an email from an address I didn’t recognize saying they were just one town north and asking if they could “come down and see my hair.” Since this was to my personal email, I asked if this person was someone I knew. It wasn’t, and the proposition that followed made me realize that this person knew more about me than I was comfortable with. And worse – this person knew my exact location at that moment.
Cyber-stalking isn’t new, but the tools have changed. With Facebook about to roll out its geo-tagging service, and Twitter and Yelp also offering “check-in” abilities, one has to wonder how this will compromise people’s privacy – and even safety – in the future. The Daily Beast posted an article recently about a story similar to mine, but this time the “stalker” called the restaurant the user had checked in to and harassed her verbally over the phone. Quoted in the article, Foursquare counters that the service is meant to alert your friends about your location and that broadcasting the information over Twitter is just an option. And while that is true, keeping it a closed network isn’t the intent or desire of these technologies since the monetization of their services is based on the broad, open reach that “check-ins” can offer.
I’m torn. As a PR professional, we want people to use these tools to tell the world that they are at an event that we organized, or are shopping or eating at a client’s establishment. There is a distinct value of users broadcasting that they are thrilled to be trying out a new restaurant or that a particular store has a fabulous sale going on. But as a user, now concerned over her and her family’s personal safety, I will definitely think twice before checking in.
What do you think? Do you have any ideas about how to use these tools for marketing to a large audience yet still be safe to the individual user?
While I like the idea of the apps, I sometimes find the constant check in tweets annoying, esp. when that is the only tweet I get from the person. If it’s not, then I don’t get so annoyed. However I did read an article a while ago- not sure where- or I’d link it, about privacy with these apps and the author suggested checking in as you leave the location as an idea…
I’ve been saying for awhile that this is something I will never use, no matter what the potential. People who check in to their banks etc. seem to have digital targets on their backs. I’m sorry this happened to you!
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I would never use it primarily because my home construction site had a vandal and I would never want someone like that to know I wasn’t home. Also this person is my neighbor. So? My feelings toward this are totally biased.
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Scary Beth!
Sometimes I love it, sometimes I am terrified of it. I often check into a location long after I’ve left, which kind of defeats the purpose.
Though, a few weeks ago I fell in love with it all over again. I was at Extraordinary Desserts with some friends and when I checked in, I discovered that my friend was there. I text messaged her — and we got to chat! Then I was excited.
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Hi Beth,
Agreed, that is not cool. I do however think there are some options out there that still meet everyone’s needs. If people are seriously concerned about safety than keep your foursquare followers to be only people you know and trust. Your check-in history is private so the only people who can see it are the ones you send it to.
I’d also recommend not sending out your check-ins over Twitter/Facebook – these are much wider audiences, full of people you don’t know. I can see many potential problems with having that many people know exactly where you are.
I do see your point that businesses hope that you will broadcast the location on these networks, however I think they get a lot more out of Foursquare than just the potential tweet or status update.
• Every time you ck-into a venue, their number rises. • If you leave a tip, you are sharing information/recos with other foursquare users.
•The companies have the opportunity to mine demographics from their check-ins and incentivize people with coupons/mayorship rewards.
•If you become Mayor, you may cause a check-in frenzy as you and the previous Mayor compete for the prestigious title.
• And most importantly, you can still share the information that you were at said venue in your other networks, it just doesn’t need to be a real time check-in. You could share photos or update your status with what you ate/did etc.
I was recently chatting with the lovely Jenn Van Grove, and she mentions she only checks-in as she’s leaving a place. That makes a lot of sense too.
In other words, I think there are lots of options. It’s a new platform, so we are all still playing with it and seeing what works best. Although, perhaps the debate is moot, with Facebook’s big announcement of Facebook Places yesterday. We shall see…
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Having had a stalker once, I recognized the potential for real-life danger in this particular application as soon as I heard about it. I’m all over Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms, but you couldn’t *pay* me to use Foursquare, broadcasting my exact location at any given time not just to friends and family, but to complete strangers.
My stalker was an off-duty bank security guard practicing his “hunting and tracking skills” on me over a few weeks when I was just out of college — he ended up losing his job over the deal, but it was an early lesson for me that unsound people don’t need compelling reasons to track someone down. Foursquare puts the tools to do exactly that squarely in their hands.
I’m even cautious tweeting or blogging about travel until it’s actually over and I’m back home. Forget stalkers — why tell the world that nobody’s in my house for the next three days? I’d like to come back to my stereo, tv, computers, etc. exactly where I left them.
For businesses, I see the app’s potential for promotion, growth, and new customers. That’s clear. For individuals, though, the potential for real harm — no matter how rare or unlikely — is too great for me to recommend it to anyone I care about.
From the perspective of a non-user, I have found that when someone I follow on Twitter hooks up Foursquare to it, I unfollow them, sometimes within hours if they’re particularly active. One such person was a local business person who had been using Twitter to market her store.
I think foursquare is a little too close for comfort. I work in a public establishment and carefully choose to separate my blogging efforts from my “9-5″. I don’t need everyone knowing my business at all times, sorry.
I share your concern but want to promote Green Business, those practicing Green and Green Events. So I only check-in as I’m leaving a location. I also have under “handle” Moms Going Geeen vs. my name. Great topic!
Beth, I’m so glad you wrote a blog on this topic as I too have been on the fence about Foursquare and social media privacy in general. I love the potential that Foursquare has from a PR & marketing perspective and think it’s a great way to engage current and potential consumers, but I have a really hard time jumping on board with my personal account. Whether it be an unfriendly ex-boyfriend or some random stranger, there are plenty of people that I don’t want knowing where I am and what I’m doing at any given time. That’s why all my social media accounts have pretty strict privacy settings, including my Twitter. It’s disappointing that I can’t really engage with some of my favorite brands and places, and yes I probably miss out on cool promos and tips but in the end, it just isn’t worth compromising my personal safety. I guess it all comes down to knowing who your friends or followers are and being aware of what information you’re sharing with them.
Thank you all for your comments!!
I do agree that the marketing potential is HUGE… and this weekend as I was leaving my *new* local Target I was itching to check-in!
Here’s the thing about checking-in as you are leaving.. you may miss a valuable coupon from the establishment (which would hurt their offering) and a potential stalker will still know your routines… that you went to Target 3x in the last few weeks, you eat at Pizza Palace every Tuesday night, etc.
I could chose to have my updates go nowhere, or to my FB stream, but then whats the point? I have more local followers on Twitter than on FB, and people have different names on FS sometimes.. the whole thing is very confusing! Thanks for all your thoughts!