FOURSQUARE, the latest social networking phenomenon, starts in London today, 8 October.
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Whereas Twitter is famous for the question, “What are you doing?”, Foursquare could be described as asking, “Where are you and what’s it like?”
The idea is that followers tell each other their locations and recommend places to go and see. For instance, this morning, Joan L. in London wrote in praise of the British Library.
“Get there early for workspace and free wifi. Goes wonky by 2:30PM, otherwise fab,” she said.
You can visit Foursquare on your computer and there’s an iPhone app for the service, too.
“Foursquare on your phone gives you and your friends new ways of exploring your city,” is the way the company sells itself.
As well as acting as a kind of city-guide, Foursquare has a gaming element, where users build up points for sociable activity like going out, posting reviews and being the first to visit an event.
So far, it has done business in various American cities and Amsterdam, with Paris set to be next on the roll-out list.
Critics have pointed out that much of what Foursquare offers is already available on Twitter, which obviously has a much larger base of users.
