Why Foursquare Matters

This is not about the playground game.

Foursquare is a social media application that allows you to "check in" to various locations. Any of your friends on foursquare can then see where you are and what you are doing. You can leave reviews of the places you are at and add tips for people who would come along later. If you are the person who checks in at a place the most, you become the "mayor" of that location.

I am the mayor of Caribou.

You can choose to show your check in on Facebook and Twitter also and add pictures. Some of the places you check in have "specials" associated with them. These are essentially coupons for when you check in there. For instance, if you check in at the tanning salon next to Caribou, you get 10% off a lotion purchase.

Not that I've used that.

Lots of people are wary of the idea of foursquare. Why would I want people to know where I am and what I'm doing? How vain am I? Plus, isn't that just inviting people to come rob me when they know I'm out of the house?

Valid points, but the truth is, most of my generation and those younger than me simply don't care. We have no problem exposing every aspect of our lives. It's not necessarily vanity. It's a form of communicating with friends.

"Hey, I'm at Caribou, come hang out."

If you are a church, here's why this matters to you. Most of your churches are on foursquare whether you know it or not. You don't have to be the owner of an establishment to create a foursquare location page. If I'm at a church and I want to check in there, if there is no location found on foursquare, I can make one with the push of a button. And then everyone else who is on foursquare can use that location when they check in there.

At my current church, about 5-10 people a weekend will check in during services. For the tech savvy, this is often their first social media glimpse of the church. Those who have come before have left reviews and pictures and all sort of stuff. Even if you don't know that foursquare exists.

Is this hitting a huge population? No. But it is visible to the most tech savvy people that visit your church. What are they seeing when they show up?

Don't be afraid of foursquare, but get on there and make sure people are having positive experiences. Use it as another tool. For five to ten people a week, this is our front door. If no one has checked in to your church yet, create the foursquare location and have it ready for others when they come.

Do you use foursquare? Have you ever checked in to a church? Tell me about your experience in the comments section below.