Foursquare & the Arts

Culture LabApril 29, 2011

Chicago

@devonvsmithhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/robinzblog/

What’s an LBS?“an information or entertainment service that uses the geographical position of a mobile device” -wikipedia

the review

the business card

the crisis map

the random group experience

the augmented reality

the searchthe game

the discount

the check in

A Million Ways to Check Intouch phone

bump your phone

snap a photo (QR)

tap your phone (NFC)

sms

always on GPS

mobile-enabled browser

via another LBS

wave your phone (RFID)

audio signalaudio signal

Who? Why?

checking in enables all the good stuff to start happening

Get information about a specific venue

Check in

20% of check-ins are shared socially

Look for the venue I want to check-in to

any user can create a new venue, so

sometimes you’ll see “fake” venues like “in

line for tickets”

Be rewarded for checking in

check-ins count towards mayorships (temporary) &

badges (permanent), points count towards leaderboard w/ friends (rolling 7 day count)

Businesses can offer special discounts for

check-ins

If I don’t know what I’m looking for, I can

explore venues

this is why categories, tags, and tips matter

If friends check-in nearby, 4sq will notify me

When I check-in near that venue later,

4sq will remind me

brands can leave tips or to-dos

at any venue

Recommendations based on friends activity, venue popularity, and my history

the more people who use foursquare, the better it gets

most “social networking” is between users, not with venue1. Monitor venue analytics & tips 2. Consider offering a special 3. Link to your Foursquare

still confused?www.getsatisfaction.com/foursquare

www.aboutfoursquare.com

76 nonprofit theatres, budgets $1M - $50M+ tracked since Jan 2010

*with apologies to the non-theatres in the crowd

http://bit.ly/theatresonfoursquare

Average venue has 4 tips, last updated 3 months ago55% of mayors are male

36% have been claimed by staff 97% of venues have a mayor,

Claimed venues have 3x more activity

*but correlation does not imply causation

Venues w/ specials have 15% more unique visitors

An average venue’s level of activity

Just because you offer a special, doesn’t mean the crowds will come a’ runnin

Specials

HistoryChannel

Average venue has 424 check-ins from 155 peopleOct

Early Venues have More Check Ins

Foursquare rolled out in 5 stages across the US. Some cities didn’t get access until Jan 2010

1 minute case studies

the

low

tec

h/hi

gh t

ouch

met

hod

Multiple Temporary Venues

Mission: Edition at Christina Rey Gallery

the check-in treasure hunt

permanent record/social proof

technical challenges to working with the API

highlight loyal customers

permanent record/social proof

give human connection to your staff

using Foursquare’s API

When Should I Visit?

the check-in that anticipates what you need to know

the check-in that makes introductions

the check-in that recommends how to get healthy

the check-in as your digital wallet

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

the check-in to a piece of content

App

endi

x

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

Venues can pay for Boost ad, Google tag, AdWords

Ads Ads Badges

Verify venues by phone or postcard phone or uploaded docs phone phone, postcard, or email

% of activity is mobile ? 25% 35% 90%

claimed venues /% venues classified arts

6 million ? 8% 250,000

Venues can offer coupons deals (beta) coupons, specials & deals specials

Users with special powers

n/a n/a elite squad super users

Game Mechanics n/a n/a Royalty & Badges Mayor & Badges

Reviews are Scraped from the web & user added reviews

User added comments User added reviews User added tips

as of April 2011

SEO ReviewsIncrease Page Likes

LoyaltyBottom line?

Foursquare compared to other LBS

22 different kinds of arts orgs from around SF:6th Street PlayhouseCalifornia Shakespeare TheaterChildren's Discovery Museum of San JoseCommunity School of Music and Arts (CSMA)Contemporary Jewish MuseumCounterPULSECreativity ExploredKuumbwa Jazz

Livermore Valley OperaMeridian GalleryMontalvo Arts CenterRoss Valley PlayersSan Francisco OperaSan Jose Institute of Contemporary ArtSOMArts Cultural CenterStanford Jazz Workshop

Stern Grove FestivalThe San Francisco Gay Men's ChorusTheatre Bay AreaTown Hall TheatreYerba Buena Center for the ArtsZ Space

Foursquare = 304Facebook = 142

Yelp = 49Google = 8

what’s this about badges?

images from www.foursquaregrader.com

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

Challenges

www.hunch.com

skews young & male

perceptions of privacy concerns

www.bitsybot.com

A&E is small category

Perhaps a problem is the special being offered?