How women might use Foursquare…
Yeah, so maybe I’ll check into a location on Foursquare every couple of months or so. Usually at a public or charitable event, where at least a couple dozen other people have checked in.
Otherwise, I’m not too keen on letting people know where I am with pinpoint accuracy. It’s a safety thing.
I’m also not too motivated to earn badges. I kinda got over collecting badges on my sash when i was a a Girl Scout. Badges? I don’t need no stinkin’ badges!OK…so what about getting those little food & drink freebies and discounts for checking into FourSquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places, etc.? Let’s face it: if I’m at a bar, someone’s usually going to buy me a drink. Or dinner. Or whatever. And that someone is usually male. There’s just no upside for me to check into Foursquare.So it comes as no surprise to me that twice as many men as women use these social geolocation services. (Hat tip to @CindyDroog for pointing me to this Economist post.)
Otherwise, I’m not too keen on letting people know where I am with pinpoint accuracy. It’s a safety thing.
I’m also not too motivated to earn badges. I kinda got over collecting badges on my sash when i was a a Girl Scout. Badges? I don’t need no stinkin’ badges!OK…so what about getting those little food & drink freebies and discounts for checking into FourSquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places, etc.? Let’s face it: if I’m at a bar, someone’s usually going to buy me a drink. Or dinner. Or whatever. And that someone is usually male. There’s just no upside for me to check into Foursquare.So it comes as no surprise to me that twice as many men as women use these social geolocation services. (Hat tip to @CindyDroog for pointing me to this Economist post.)
Some men seem very eager to let women know where they are. Most women are eager to avoid these men.
Like many women, I don’t want to hang out with “men” who loudly and publicly broadcast their whereabouts, brag inanely about earning dubious mayorships, or virtually squeal with glee when they get a free appetizer or fifty cents off a happy hour drink.
That said, I use Foursquare quite a bit — but not in the way you might think.I spy on Foursquare to find out where these over-eager Foursquare men are congregating. And then I go somewhere else. Usually a place that doesn’t have the “check in on FourSquare” sign on the window. Or secret, underground places with proprietors that promise to publicly humiliate any patron who might check into Foursquare. Surely, I’m not alone in this behavior.Who else uses Foursquare to avoid crowds and running into people who seem a little too eager to share the minutia of their lives with you?
That said, I use Foursquare quite a bit — but not in the way you might think.I spy on Foursquare to find out where these over-eager Foursquare men are congregating. And then I go somewhere else. Usually a place that doesn’t have the “check in on FourSquare” sign on the window. Or secret, underground places with proprietors that promise to publicly humiliate any patron who might check into Foursquare. Surely, I’m not alone in this behavior.Who else uses Foursquare to avoid crowds and running into people who seem a little too eager to share the minutia of their lives with you?
Posted via email from Laura Bergells is Maniactive | Comment »
