Barack Obama’s Foursquare Account: Commander in Chief Checks In


Well, that’s a hell of a coup for location-aware apps.

Foursquare has just gotten its biggest deal user in the free world- President Barack Obama has joined the global check-in game, although I daresay it’s unlikely he’ll be checking in in Greenpoint at 3:43 AM on a Friday. Interestingly, Foursquare hasn’t updated their blog to discuss the White House’s decision to open an account for Barack Obama, but New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg got a long, fancy post for using the service and declaring April 16th Foursquare Day in Gotham.

However, Foursquare.com has a sober button added to their homepage inviting users- 15,000 of which have so far accepted- to follow the Commander in Chief’s Foursquare account. It’s not immediately apparent where Barack Obama’s Foursquare account is located, but to find it, follow the President via the button below and then go to foursquare.com/whitehouse to creep on his profile. This is the follow button:

So, why is the President on Foursquare, and why now? If you recall, Foursquare was very involved in promoting local elections and encouraging younger people to get out and vote. Obama’s campaign is probably well aware that the desirable 18-34 electoral base skews liberal, and strongly intersects with the userbase of Foursquare.

It’s likely technologically savvy campaign advisors for Obama realize that while Foursquare won’t cinch the 2011 election, it could be very handy in swaying younger voters to at least follow the campaign. It’s also pretty likely that now that Barack Obama is on Foursquare, every candidate and their brother will sign up for the service posthaste as a campaign tool.

Are you following the President on Foursquare? Do you think harnessing such technologies early gives candidates an edge in their campaigns?

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