Foursquare is one of those things people either love or hate, usually quite vocally either way.
Many people not playing the game get annoyed at the constant Twitter updates from Foursquare-playing friends, but if you’re playing, you might dig on cheaper Frappucinos at Starbucks or warnings about possible terrorist attacks in New York City . Players are also aware of the frustration that looms when someone local steals your mayorship and you can’t seem to get it back no matter how many damn times you eat at Chipotle this week.
Although Mashable suggests that a new site WhenWillIBeMayor.com flirts with cheating on Foursquare , all the site really does is reveal how many more check-ins are needed at a venue to achieve mayor status. You can search by venue name or location, or by number of check-in and top venues. A cursory search shows me that there are several venues that I can wrest mayorship from a fellow player of merely by checking in one more time.
In a blog post earlier today, WWIBM addresses the “gaming” the game issue, and I’m inclined to agree. Definitely not cheating:
Maybe by now – you’ve seen the Mashable article about WWBIM. If not – you should read it prior to reading this post. I just wanted to post a quick follow-up on my thoughts on “gaming” foursquare via WWBIM. The article make a point that WWBIM is “gaming” the system to determine when you’ll get mayorships. The point of WWBIM isn’t to “game” the system – but just to give you an idea on how you are doing. “Gaming” to me – is affecting the outcome of something, while I think we are just providing “guidance” on mayorships.
With all the new promotions out there to become Mayor of venues to gain discounts at your favorite shops – I figured that this would be a great application to track that progress – and the indent wasn’t to allow people to game the system – rather give them insight into their history on foursquare.
Besides, thanks to this site I know that I’m only one check-in away from a buck off coffee milkshakes at a local, lonely Starbucks. Whee!
