One Woman's Rules of Foursquare

When I was in grammar school with @dianamyee and @jdunham1029, one of my favorite recess games was foursquare . . . where you used your hands to bat a rubber ball into one of the four squares you and three friends/competitors were standing in, hoping they'd miss or hit it out, allowing you to move up closer to the number one square.

Lo, these many decades later, I am once again a fan of Foursquare.

God bless the folks who made this app.

What's so great about it?

Everything.

Mostly I like it because it makes the chore of running errands fun.  Because the way Foursquare works is that you "check in" to sites that pop up on your screen, based on GPS positioning.  AND YOU SCORE POINTS.  Going to the grocery store?  CHECK IN!! Going to the post office?  CHECK IN.  Picking up orders?  CHECK IN   Get it?!?!? Fun, fun, fun.  

What makes it even more fun is that you play "against" friends who've agreed to be in your loop of Foursquare friends . . . and you see how many points they have . . . and you keep checking in.  

Points are awarded based on all sorts of factors, such as whether it's your first time there, your first time to that category of place, whether you're the first of your friends to be there, whether you are there WITH your friends.  

And if you're the person who's been there the most often, YOU ARE THE MAYOR!!!!  (And if you are lucky like me, your cool friends give you a Foursquare Mayorship logo t-shirt for your birthday.  Because I am a little obsessed.)

And it's pretty ridiculous, but in this world where we don't always get feedback for what we're doing, IT FEELS GOOD to be "mayor."  And to get the badges that Foursquare awards you for all kinds of silly things, too.

The app will shut out your checkins if it thinks you are cheating by clicking on too many at once, or if the place is too far away, GPS-wise, from where you're trying to checkin.  

But aside from those limitations, how you play Foursquare is pretty much up to you.  (And any agreements you make with your circle of friends.)

Just so you know how I play, here's my own manifesto:)

ONE WOMAN'S RULES OF FOURSQUARE

1.  No to "drive-bys."

I do not check in to places that I am simply moving past.  In other words, when various establishments pop up on the screen, I do not check into them simply because I am walking past them.  No fair.  No good.  

2.  Yes to "drive-ons"  

But I do check in to places I am traveling UPON.  In other words, as a passenger in a car driving over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, I will check into the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.  Same with listed freeways, etc.  However, this does NOT apply to cities/neighborhoods I am traveling THROUGH.  

3.  No to adding "goofy locations".

I do not add goofy (my own, technical term) locations to the system, like "my backyard" or other places I go that others do not.  

4.  Yes to checking in to applicable, already-existing "goofy locations."

But if the system already has some hilarious existing location (such as "Fog," or "Playing air guitar in my car in traffic") that applies to where I am and what I'm doing when it pops on the screen, I will check in there.  Because it is silly and fun.  Which is at the heart of Foursquare.

5.  Yes to adding business locations.

I will enter and check in to any business I frequent that is not yet in the system.  Because I think another thing at the heart of Foursquare is the chance to publicize places that you like.  And when your friends see that you have checked into the new cafe in town and go there a lot, that is good for that cafe.  Which is all good.

6.  Yes to "multiple checkins."  

I check in to all spots ALREADY ON THE LIST that apply to where I am.  For instance, last week I was at an art gallery in the Veteran's Memorial Building in San Francisco.  All three of those names popped up on the screen:  the gallery, the building, and the city.  I checked in to all three.  

Got it?  Any questions?  Any suggestions?  Feedback?  Add them in the comments below!  And have fun checking in :)