15 minute presentation at CultureLab at the University of Chicago, April 2011.

1. Foursquare &
the Arts
Culture Lab
April 29, 2011
Chicago
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinzblog/
@devonvsmith

2. What’s an LBS?
“an information or entertainment service that uses the
geographical position of a mobile device” -wikipedia
the game the crisis map
the search
the business
the discount card
the check in
the
augmented reality the random
group experience
the review

3. A Million Ways to Check In always on GPS
touch phone
audio signal
audio signal
sms
tap your phone
(NFC)
via another LBS
wave your phone bump your
(RFID) phone
snap a photo
(QR)
mobile-enabled
browser

4. Who? Why?

5. checking in enables all the good stuff to start happening
Be rewarded
Look for the venue I Get information about Check in
for checking in
want to check-in to a specific venue
any user can create a Businesses can offer 20% of check-ins are check-ins count towards
new venue, so special discounts for shared socially mayorships (temporary) &
sometimes you’ll see check-ins badges (permanent),
“fake” venues like “in points count towards
line for tickets” leaderboard w/ friends
(rolling 7 day count)

6. the more people who use foursquare, the better it gets
If I don’t know what Recommendations based When I check-in near
If friends check-in nearby,
I’m looking for, I can on friends activity, venue that venue later,
4sq will notify me
explore venues popularity, and my history 4sq will remind me
brands can leave tips
this is why categories, or to-dos
tags, and tips matter at any venue

7. most “social networking” is between users, not with venue
1. Monitor venue analytics & tips 2. Consider offering a special 3. Link to your Foursquare
www.getsatisfaction.com/foursquare
still confused?
www.aboutfoursquare.com

8. 76 nonprofit theatres, budgets $1M - $50M+ tracked since Jan 2010
http://bit.ly/theatresonfoursquare
*with apologies to the non-theatres in the crowd

9. 36% have been claimed by staff
97% of venues have a mayor,
Average venue has 4 tips, last updated 3 months ago
55% of mayors are male

10. An average venue’s level of activity
Venues w/ specials have
15% more unique visitors
Claimed venues have
3x more activity
*but correlation does not imply causation

11. Just because you offer a special,
History
doesn’t mean the crowds will come a’ runnin Channel
Specials
Oct
Average venue has 424 check-ins from 155 people

12. Early Venues have More Check Ins
Foursquare rolled out in 5 stages across the US. Some cities didn’t get access until Jan 2010

13. 1 minute case studies

14. the low tech/high touch method

15. Multiple Temporary Venues

16. the check-in
treasure hunt
Mission: Edition at
Christina Rey Gallery

17. using Foursquare’s API
permanent record/
social proof
highlight loyal
customers
permanent record/
technical challenges to social proof
working with the API
give human connection
to your staff

18. When Should I Visit?

19. the check-in that anticipates what you need to know

20. the check-in that makes introductions

21. the check-in that recommends how to get healthy

22. the check-in as your digital wallet

23. the check-in as a trigger for unlocking a door,
starting a coffee machine

24. the check-in to a piece of content

25. Appendix

26. Google Places Facebook Places Yelp Foursquare
Users 50 million + 30 million + 45 million 9 million
Age 1.5 years < 1 year 6.5 years 2 years
Location 42 countries 22 countries 8 countries 200 countries
Boost ad, Google tag,
Venues can pay for Ads Ads Badges
AdWords
Verify venues by phone or postcard phone or uploaded docs phone phone, postcard, or email
% of activity is mobile ? 25% 35% 90%
claimed venues / 6 million ? 8% 250,000
% venues classified arts
Venues can offer coupons deals (beta) coupons, specials & deals specials
Users with special n/a n/a elite squad super users
powers
Game Mechanics n/a n/a Royalty & Badges Mayor & Badges
Scraped from the web &
Reviews are User added comments User added reviews User added tips
user added reviews
Bottom line? SEO Increase Reviews Loyalty
Page Likes
as of April 2011

27. Foursquare compared to other LBS
Foursquare = 304 Yelp = 49
Facebook = 142 Google = 8
22 different kinds of arts orgs from around SF:
6th Street Playhouse Livermore Valley Opera
Stern Grove Festival
California Shakespeare Theater Meridian Gallery
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose Montalvo Arts Center
Theatre Bay Area
Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) Ross Valley Players
Town Hall Theatre
Contemporary Jewish Museum San Francisco Opera
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
CounterPULSE San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
Z Space
Creativity Explored SOMArts Cultural Center
Kuumbwa Jazz Stanford Jazz Workshop

28. what’s this about badges?
There have been over 300, many are only temporarily available to earn and then retired.
Foursquare makes up its own badges, and some brands have paid to get a sponsored badge
images from www.foursquaregrader.com

29. Challenges
skews young & male
www.hunch.com
A&E is small
category
www.bitsybot.com
perceptions of
privacy concerns

30. Perhaps a problem is the special being offered?