Foursquare goes Foodie with Zagat deal
Mobile location game Foursquare seems to be stepping into the spotlight after inking deals with Bravo TV and now restaurant rating experts Zagat. And soon, when you check in at certain Zagat-rated restaurants in major cities, you can get your Foodie badge on Foursquare.
Foursquare is a game that allows you to check in at restaurants and bars to unlock badges and keep track of friends. It’s quickly becoming the most popular location-based game by adding in this fun feature of check-ins, badges and in some cases, rewards.
The company is working at a frenzied pace to ink new deals with restaurants and now major media organizations to promote the service and offer rewards. Foursquare only recently inked a partnership with Bravo TV and is announcing its deal with Zagat today.
The Foodie badge that’s in the works from the Zagat partnership will be available after visiting certain restaurants in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. The Foodie badge will represent a step up in class from old badges, especially the legendary Douchebag badge.
The game itself takes advantage of the preponderance of smartphones coming out with GPS location devices built in. Foursquare spurs usage by allowing users to unlock badges or become the mayor of a particular location.
More people are getting comfortable with sharing their location online on this type of location-based social network. That was long thought to be the sticking point with getting a service like Foursquare off the ground.
Now it’s rumored that Facebook might be trying to create a check in feature to compete with Foursquare. That would certainly be the highest form of flattery for upstart technology company Foursquare.
But the real question is whether Foursquare can make the leap from hip niche player to a mainstream audience. If you haven’t ever checked out a mobile location service like Foursquare, what’s holding you back?
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