🇬🇧 Foursquare, the antisocial network

 

This Sunday I signed up on Foursquare even if probably I should have signed some years ago. Honestly I’ve never have an account because I hate to subscribe web services that I don’t need, and I didn’t need it until I read about the real time deals in partnership with Groupon.

Groupon in Italy is a sort of mania. I see people that go crazy for the offers and buy things that they never known to want. Foursquare here is used from a really small community that, especially in Milan, is composed from Digital and Communication workers. Ok, they are all good people, but not properly the typical I’d like to spend all my evenings.
Now I think that the Foursquare’s/Groupon’s users will enormously increase and so I’ll have the possibility to find my common friends around Milan.

So, on Sunday I signed up and I searched for contacts using Facebook, Gmail and Twitter adding people without any criteria.

Add him, add her, add its, add them.
No!
I shouldn’t add him!
I’m not interested in meeting him and I don’t want to know where is he.
Hey wait..there’s a paradox!
I’m really interested in his position because in this way I can avoid him or prepare myself to the “casual meeting”.
It’s fantastic!

image of avoid area

Foursquare is the first social network that can be used for antisocial human needs with a millimetric precision. Its better than the participation lists on Facebook and Eventbrite because its preciser and in real time.
Even if the web is going to be social, in the day life we can’t be always friendly. I don’t know you, but absolutely I can’t, so sometimes could be useful to know if in a bar or in a square there’s someone that I prefer avoid.

This is a really concrete, rude and onf line use of the mobile internet (what is onf line?).
I love it!

This antisocial use of Foursquare I think that could be improved with some new functions like:

  • new tagging/attributes scheme for the contacts like “follow” or “avoid”
  • “avoid friend” check-in map with special alert or a new navigation tab
  • places suggestions free of the “avoid friends” (powered of Groupon)

So, what are you waiting for?
Add me on Foursquare!

image property of HowardLake

4 risposte a “🇬🇧 Foursquare, the antisocial network”

  1. […] I’ll follow them, even if for me Foursquare is still an Antisocial Network […]

  2. Peter from NL

    Nice article 🙂
    I added you.
    In fact 4sq is a VERY social network. You can even add the friends/followers if other 4sq people to your own list.
    Did you know that, that people can add someone elses twitter followers to their own 4square friends! You only have to type the twitter account name…

    So in the end, we can all be friends!

    1. Hi Peter,
      this seems a bug, not a real function 🙂
      On my Android there isn’t any call to action. 4SQ doesn’t tell me “insert your friend’s Twitter username and add his friends”; 4SQ tells me “enter your Twitter username”, but it don’t ask me for credentials. And then, when I change the username I must exit and re-enter in the section to upload the new friends list.

      I think that this bug is due to the open friends lists on Twitter and 4SQ can’t avoid the stranger’s access from its platform.

      Thank you for the screenshot on my mail and thanks for adding me around the web. Tonight I’ll watch with attention your launch video because I love new rich mobile experiences.

      Keep in touch.
      Antonio from Italy
      🙂

  3. […] follow them, even if for me Foursquare is still an Antisocial Network […]

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