Location-Based Networking – A future in Community Engagement?

No Comments //

I’m a bit of a sucker for social media. I’m not sure if it’s my Gemini personality but I become very easily engaged in worlds of online networking.

The most popular tools of our current time are obviously Facebook and Twitter but recently I’ve become fascinated by Foursquare.

Foursquare is the current leader in this new thing we seem to be calling ‘location-based networking’ and it describes itself as a way of using your phone to find new ways to explore your city.

The basic idea is that when you arrive at a location (a cafe, hotel, library and so on) you ‘check in’. After checking in, you get to see who else is at the same location and whether any of your friends are nearby. It’s a little bit stalker-ish and I personally only check in when leaving the venue!

You also get points for each check in you make or when you add a new venue. This element of competition doesn’t really interest me, though there is something kind of cool about checking in the most at a particular venue and becoming the ‘mayor’…

So what’s the point in all this, I hear you ask.

Well, to me it is a bit of a gimmick. It’s networking on the go. It’s fun for a geek like me. And sometimes you tap in to special offers or tips. On a recent trip to Sydney I checked in at a pub (I won’t lie, I needed a drink before noon) and a special offer flashed up on my screen for another pub down the road! If I checked in at the other pub, I’d get 2 for 1 drinks and if I was mayor I’d get 2 for 1 meals! So I suppose its a modern day marketing tool.

However. I see some great potential for the use of Foursquare in community engagement.

If (and only if) this concept of location-based networking takes off, I see it as a brilliant resource. Just imagine ‘checking in’ at the local library, not only to have a list of new release books or DVDs pop up on your screen, but also a notification that the library are currently seeking feedback on plans for a redesign of the space. The little notification could link you directly to an online consultation, or towards a real life display or place that you can have your say.

Can you imagine checking in at a particular train station with the same idea? It could be an awesome way of literally attracting passing traffic to your engagement activity! Pure gold!

But. And a big but. All of this relies on this concept of location-based networking taking off and businesses getting on board to promote special offers and tips. With Twitter recently jumping on board with ‘Twitter Places’ providing the option to specify your location when you tweet, it’s just a matter of wait and see. I wouldn’t like to put money on it.

But for now I think people just genuinely don’t see the point!