Foursquare.com: Turning Every Day into a Video Game

Perhaps the biggest trend in video games today is the "achievement" system. Originating on Microsoft's machine, and subsequently making its way to the PlayStation 3 in the form of "trophies," achievements are little awards that gamers win by completing tasks in games, but that exist outside of those games, and are displayed alongside the player's online profile which can be viewed by friends and competitors. Achievements can be awarded for completing a wide variety of tasks. Some are tied to the main game, such as beating a certain boss or completing the game on a specified difficulty level. Others are more specialized, like accumulating a certain number of head-shots or defeating five enemies with one grenade. Achievements have taken the gaming world by storm, and keep some of the more determined of us tied to our televisions, trying to track down every last one.

Now, some of our less-gaming-inclined readers might be saying to themselves, "what the heck is the point?" And in a sense, their concerns have some foundation. These achievements award gamers with no tangible benefit. They don't make your in-game character any stronger, or give you any advantage over your competitors. In reality, they are merely merit badges that gamers get to wear on their online profiles. But they do have some value, if you briefly suspend your non-gamer cynicism. Primarily, they provide for bragging rights. Just like you would show off a trophy for winning your bowling league or your award for getting the highest grade in your class, a gamer would similarly tout his trophy for completing Metal Gear Solid 4 on the highest difficulty without once being detected by the enemy (an extremely difficult feat, let me assure you). Secondarily, achievements provide for greater replay value in games, giving players a reason to go back to a game they may have completed and play through it in a different way. And in an economy where most games cost $60, the more time you can spend playing, and thus the more bang-for-your-buck you derive from your purchase, the better.

This trend has not stayed within the realms of the gaming world, however. One website has recognized the addictive quality of these achievements and is now using a similar system to their advantage. The website is called Foursquare.com, and is one of the fastest growing trends on the internet. Foursquare functions as follows: the first step is to download the Foursquare application to your GPS enabled smartphone (and who doesn't have one of those these days?). Then, as your travel to different real world locations and establishments, boot up the app on your phone. It will detect your location through your GPS, which then allows you to "check in" at that location. These "check-ins" can be posted to Twitter or Facebook to let your friends know where you are. Also, while you are checked-in to a certain location, you can submit tips for use by the next user who checks in there. For example, if you check in at a bar, you gain access to all the tips left by people who  have previously checked in there, informing you about everything from drinks specials, a particularly tasty appetizer, or some hilarious scribblings on the wall of the third stall in the ladies' restroom. And that pretty much describes the user experience in its entirety: go places, check-in there, read some tips, leave some tips, go somewhere else, check-in, read some tips, leave some tips, etc, etc.

Some of you are probably asking yourselves, "what does this have to do with achievements?" And to that I say, "sheesh, give me some time, I'm getting there so just keep your pants on." ::clears throat:: To add some much needed depth to the user experience, the creators of Foursquare included a clever "badge" and "point" system. As you check into places, you gain points which are tied to your personal account. Checking in to the same place multiple times in one night, or discovering a brand new place never checked into before, award you different amounts of points. Users also accumulate badges, which are pretty much identical to the achievements found in the games mention earlier. For example, the "super user" badge gets awarded to any user who accumulates 30 check-ins in one month. The "local" badge gets awarded to any user who checks into the same place 3 times in one week. The "adventurer" badge gets awarded to any user who checks into 10 different locations. Much like video game achievements, the primary purpose of these badges is bragging rights. And, also much like video game achievements, they prove quite addicting, and have turned many users into compulsive checker-inners.

But Foursquare goes one step further, adding legitimate, real world value to these badges. By far the most coveted badge is the "mayor" badge, awarded to any user who has the most check-ins at a certain location than every other user. For example, if you have checked into the deli down the street more times than any other user, you become the "mayor" of that deli. This creates a sense of competition, giving users motivation to keep revisiting certain places in order to rack up the check-ins. Clearly, this is beneficial for the owners of these establishments, as it increases foot traffic. To make the deal even sweeter, certain participating establishments give benefits to their respective mayors. Participating bars offer free drinks to whoever is the current Foursquare "mayor" of that location. Similarly, many coffee houses offer free cups of coffee to their "mayor." This takes the achievement system that is so addicting in video games and takes it to the next level, and has so interesting implications on new marketing strategies. For example, I can imagine a promotion run by a big chain like Starbucks, where they give Foursquare users six hours to check into as many different Starbucks locations as they can, and whoever makes it to the most will win a gift card. 

It's all very interesting stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if these video game achievement systems spread into other types of media. And whether you see its value or still think it is pointless, that fact of the matter is it is growing fast, and may soon take over your life without you even knowing it.