I signed up on foursquare.com even before I got a smartphone. I knew that it'd be interesting to be able to report my whereabouts on a GPS-enabled device. The whole idea of being able to check-in at places far and wide seemed a natural extension of blogging and tweeting.
I never did manage to add many friends on that platform. Of course that would be where the fun could begin, as one could keep track of others. For example, if enough local acquaintances were on-board, then we might be able to extemporaneously meet up for coffee when circumstance brought us into the same area. Alas, that really wasn't in the cards as I never knew enough people who were into smartphones. I kept at it anyway. For example, I was able to check in on occasion on this fall's trip to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. It was nice that places had been saved and locations of the world were busily being mapped. I had these check-ins automatically loaded to my Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Badii Palace, Marrakech, Morocco - Taken September 26, 2010
Now Facebook, itself, has added Places for mobile devices. I am afraid that they are starting from behind in the total number of locations marked; however, they're a force to be reckoned with. I have made a few tentative tries at checking-in with the Android Facebook app. It seems to work. I cannot output to Twitter from Facebook places, but I have a much larger audience of friends in the Facebook environment. Shall I delete Foursquare from my phone?
