The reason for its popularity is that it works on three fronts: social utility, sharing, and gaming-inspired rewards. People are already tweeting their whereabouts so it capitalizes on an existing behaviour. Next, it organizes what your friends thought about certain places in a timely manner – when you’re in the area.  It borrows from gaming theory by rewarding you with points and unlockable badges as incentives to keep playing. These hip, addictive, social status  badges (derived from the places you visit) range from “Gossip Girl to Douchebag”, and “Player Please!” to “Crunked”.

A recent execution involved restaurant review guide, Zagat, contributing professional content that enhanced the supporting suggestions users received when near a restaurant. Similarly, Warner Bros. worked collaboratively with Foursquare’s capabilities to promote its new film “Valentine’s Day”. Users were able to see branded tips on the most romantic places in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston.

Admittedly, still early in its inception, Foursquare is working with various brands to hammer out which metrics and platform features would be most effective to marketers. Nonetheless, the potential of its analytics data could provide marketers with an unprecedented look at exactly where consumers are and where they’re coming from before they come in contact with a brand. To further extend its reach, the platform should incorporate digital coupons and incentives that are accessible based on location (i.e. McDonald’s coupons when near a McDonalds). A further enhancement could incorporate in-store QR codes to make “checking-in” automatic. QR codes could even be extended directly onto products to make purchases more easily trackable. While Foursquare’s future is brimming with scary potential, presently it remains a budding platform that offers both utility and entertainment to social media consumers.