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New Mobile App Turns Life into a Video Game

Posted by Cole Stryker

The Observer reports that couple of technorati dudes from New York are beginning to market Foursquare, a mobile application that rewards users for going out and having a social life.

With Foursquare, users can download a mobile application that will let their friends know exactly where they are (by text message, Twitter and on maps, too!), and also find fun, new things to do in spots in their immediate location--"like, try this specific beer at Spitzer's Corner," Mr. Selvadurai explained. Users can create their own tips and track all the cool things they've done (in a "Top 12") and the things they want to do (in a "To Do" list).

OK, so it's kind of like yelp.com, which allows folks to rate and recommend restaurants, museums, parks, and other hotspots to each other. And there's also a bit of Twitter thrown in for good measure. But it's much more than that.

But it's also a nightlife game. Users rack up points based on how many new places they visit, how many stops they've made in one night and who else has been there. You become a "mayor" of a hot spot if you're there often. Mr. Crowley used an example of Spitzer's Corner, where Nate Westheimer, N.Y.T.M.'s head organizer, hangs out. "If you check in there one more time than Nate, then you get a message, 'Oh you stole the title of mayor from Nate,'" Mr. Crowley told the Observer in a phone interview this morning. "People get kind of competitve about this." There's a "Leaderboard" which lists the most adventurous users with the most points.

Eventually, players are rewarded with little acheivements with no real value. However, I can see that changing very soon if this thing takes off, which it will, at least in major cities. If they bring in advertisers and sponsors, they would easily be able to offer hip prizes like free drinks, clothes, concert tickets, or even a Vespa. When I see girls on Facebook who have absolutely no interest in video games growing eggs and adding flair to their walls, I'm convinced that something like this would possibly be even more popular with a traditionally non-gaming audience. I'd play.

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Posted Mar 11 2009, 01:00 PM

Filed under: cole stryker, observer, mobile games, foursquare, dodgeball, twitter, yelp

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

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Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

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