What's the point of Foursquare?

  • Leora: Maybe someone can explain to me why I am bothering with this 4square stuff. I tried to check in at Stop Shop - no check in available.
  • Graham: Well, beside the "game" aspect of it...getting more checkins than your friends, etc., I've found some "hidden" benefits: firstly, it's quite nice to know if a friend is somewhere nearby. It's also great for discovery. For example you get recommendations for new places to go from friends; also, if you're visiting a new area, you can find our the popular or recommended places in the area. I've also made friends locally through 4sq. Look out for tips for places you visit; you can often find out about special offers or get recommendations for great menu items (for example).
  • As for your check in that didn't appear, Foursquare allows you to add a location, if it isn't already listed on the system...but that should be quite rare. Sometimes, you have to scroll down quite a bit to find the location listed. Also I've found that sometimes the name or address has been listed incorrectly. You can also submit corrections to Foursquare's database.
Despite such fears fears for their own image online, the poll also found that two thirds of Britons had intentionally tagged friends in embarrassing photos so other friends would be alerted. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 93 per cent of British Facebook users said they had deleted tags on potentially compromising photos because they were “too embarrassing”.
Britons ‘drunk in three quarters of Facebook photos’ - Telegraph

Source: telegraph.co.uk

So what is Path, and should I care?

I don’t know what brought it on, but at several times during my Social Media activities yesterday, people mentioned using something called “Path.”

“Another Social Media Site?” I asked myself. Really?

I asked my good friend Mike Conaty (one of those who had mentioned Path) to explain to me what one could do on Path that you couldn’t do on one of the other popular services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, etc.

Mike Tweeted, “Honestly not a lot. It’s beautifully designed, but geared to limited close friend interaction.”

While I had been waiting for Mike to reply on Twitter, I had spent a few minutes looking at the introduction videos and the “About” page on the Path website (which is wonderfully minimalist, by the way) and I had come to the same conclusion.

So, in a nutshell, this is what Path is: an app for iPhone and Android which enables you to keep a personal journal or “path.” You can share it with close friends and family, and they can comment or react to your posts. You share personal events; thoughts, music you’re listening to, who you’re with, where you are, photos, videos, when you wake up and when you go to sleep. But the emphasis is on privacy. You can share posts on other social media services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr, but sharing is off by default, and you decide whether you wish to share something or not.

Sample Path screenshot

It’s not a suitable medium for social-climbers or networkers. In fact, Path limits you to a maximum of 150 friends. In Path’s own words:

We are inspired by Professor Robin Dunbar from Oxford University, whose
research delves deeply into the number of trusted relationships humans
can maintain throughout life. We tend to have 5 best friends, 15 good
friends, 50 close friends and family, and 150 total friends. At Path,
we’re building tools for you to share with the people who matter most in
your life

Put even more succinctly, it’s the anti-Facebook. With its simple, elegant design and emphasis on privacy, it’s ideal for those people (we all know them) who are confused by Twitter and Facebook or are worried about the dangers of living your life online.

I like it. I shall reserve its use for family and close friends. Please don’t be offended if you send me a friend request and I turn it down. To be connected with me on Path, I will have to know you, like you and trust you.


Path - Introducing Path 2 from Path on Vimeo.

Can GoVoluntr Help Better Connect Volunteers? ~ LockerGnome

GoVoluntr is

a social network that connects volunteers with other volunteers and social causes, helps nonprofits source volunteers, and allows businesses to promote their brand by building a volunteer program. GoVoluntr uses game mechanics, rewards, and branding to achieve this mission, leveraging the types of gratification that both individuals and brands seem to crave so much these days.

Google Engineer: “Google is a Prime Example of Our Complete Failure to Understand Platforms” — SiliconFilter

Google+ logoGoogle engineer Steve Yegge mistakenly posted a long rant about working at Amazon and Google’s own issues with creating platforms on Google+. Apparently, he only wanted to share it internally with everybody at Google, but mistaken shared it publicly. For the most part, Yegge’s post focusses on the horrors of working at Amazon, a company that is notorious for its political infighting. The most interesting part to me, though, is Yegge’s blunt assessment of what he perceives to be Google’s inability to understand platforms and how this could endanger the company in the long run.