The life stages of a Foursquare User
I’ve been using Foursquare for several months now and must say that their definitely appears to be several distinct life stages of a Foursquare user: The N00b, The Aspiring Politician, Maintenance Control, and The Trash Bin. Not only have I been through all 4 stages but I inevitably see all my Foursquare friends go through the same stages.
The N00b
At this stage of the game, users have heard about Foursquare from their friends or read about it in blogs, they are curious and download the application. Skeptical at first and not sure what to expect they give it a try. The noob syncs up their Twitter and Facebook account to find other friends on Foursquare. After several successful check-ins and awarded several badges the N00b starts getting hooked and moves onto the next stage.
The Aspiring Politician
The aspiring politician has been on Foursquare for a couple weeks now and always whips out their iPhone whenever they walk into a new store. Not only is this the first thing they do when entering an establishment, they have to tell ALL their friends on Twitter and Facebook that they checked into a Metro Bus stop and that their bus is running late. They are an active advocate lobbying all their friends to install Foursquare, creating check-in points for every conceivable location, adding helpful tips to random gas stations, reporting fake check-ins, and rallying hundreds of people together for a super swarm badge. Viva la Foursquare, Yes We Can!!
Maintenance
During the maintenance stage you are basically trying to fend off other Aspiring Politician’s from stealing your mayorship. At this stage you really don’t care if they take it, but you do enjoy the several specials you receive as a mayor so you still check-in out of habit and enjoy sipping on your free americanos. You slowly forget to check into places and no longer broadcast your activity to your social stream.
The Trash Bin
The final stage where all good Foursquare users go to die. First it starts with loosing your mayorship to your favorite coffee store, then to your workplace, and then to your own condo (who the heck is checking into my condo!?). With a teary face you look at your Foursquare profile: no mayorships, no new badges, no new friends, no new features, no more Foursquare.
What stage are you on?
