“Check-in, find your friends, unlock your city.” Foursquare, a location-based social networking site that launched in 2009, promises this to Penn students and other users.
Foursquare allows users to update friends on their whereabouts, or “check in,” using a smart phone application or text message.
The site is gaining in popularity around Penn, though with about three million global users, it is still not nearly as widely used as Facebook, which has over 500 million users.
Engineering sophomore Jason Mow, who has been a member of the site since last year, has witnessed a rise in the site’s popularity at Penn since joining, though many people are still relatively unaware of what it is.
“More and more vendors are getting involved,” he said, making the site more accessible and functional.
With foursquare’s growing popularity, businesses around campus are picking up on the trend.
By creating food and drink specials specifically for foursquare users, City Tap House General Manager Andy Farrell uses the site to lure new customers and repeat guests.
“We want to reward them for being good patrons,” he said.
The patron that has checked in on the most days at a venue over the last two months is considered the “mayor” of the venue — a title that can come with specials, should a venue choose to offer them.
Cavanaugh’s Restaurant and Sports Bar in University City also joined the site hoping to gain customers.
“People are always using their phones,” Manager Brian Pawliczek said. “It’s another way to get your name out there.”
However, a relatively small population uses the site, which is why Pawliczek said he does not offer many of the online-generated food and drink specials.
Deepak Prabhakar, an Engineering senior, said he joined the social networking service this summer after hearing about Tap House’s special that gave customers 64 free ounces of beer upon their 10th check-in at the restaurant.
Prabhakar said that while the site has not changed where he socializes, “I feel like it’s going to start to,” as he finds out more information on where his friends have been and what they have enjoyed around the city.
While the site seems like it could become addicting, both Mow and Prabhakar said they only update their locations occasionally, or if they are waiting inside of a store. “If I remember to do it, I’ll check in,” Prabhakar said. “It only takes 30 seconds.”
College senior and occasional foursquare user Rachel Romeo agreed.
“I think it’s pretty neat,” she said, adding that she checks in to locations when she remembers.
“I’m definitely not the mayor of anywhere,” she said, though she added that she has a friend who “checks in every five minutes.”
Though foursquare is intended to be a social networking site, it has been criticized for putting people at higher risk of being stalked or robbed.
A site called PleaseRobMe.com was launched in response to foursquare — publishing data from the site, as well as Twitter — to highlight the dangers of over-sharing personal information.
Nonetheless, Mow said he has never considered the site to be dangerous, adding that “no one’s forcing you” to join the site, and that all friends must be approved to see where he last checked in.
