This week is catch up week for ANZ 23 Mobile Things, so I’m going to attempt to learn something about the ‘things’ I have missed out on so far. First stop: Thing 4, maps and checking in.
After an unenthusiastic beginning I decided to make a point of ‘checking in’ each day at work through Foursquare. What a novel concept having someone (ie Foursquare) exited about you turning up to work each day, congratulating you on setting a new record (wow, I came to work five days last week!). Putting a little bit of a damper on things is the fact that I never got round to keeping up my 3G payments (relying on wireless internet access) and not carrying my iPad around wherever I go. But at least I’m having a try.
Foursquare, as I have been using it, seems sparsely populated. I have heard it suggested that since Facebook added the ability to ‘check in’ Foursquare has lost momentum a bit. Looking at the majority of user tips for the places I have checked in I notice that they are mostly several years old. The tips can also be quite deceptive in the app version, the top two or so tips (based on the number of ‘likes’) are displayed in the location information with no reference to date. At my library the top tip complains of the terrible wifi connection, it’s not until you view all tips that you find out this particular one is three years out of date. A more useful and more recent tip on extra student computer locations is hidden at the bottom due to not having enough ‘likes’. The web version is much clearer in displaying dates, but really, how many people would be using a social media tool of this sort from the web version? Having a look at other libraries such as the State Library of Victoria and the University of Melbourne’s Baillieu Library shows that a greater volume and more recent comments is not necessarily more useful – perhaps some way of weeding out or at least lowering the rankings of older comments would be in order.
I can see that Foursquare could be quite a useful tool for promoting libraries, making them visible to people checking out what is in their vicinity and providing helpful (and not so helpful) tips. As it stands, I’m not so sure of it’s value. I think the annoyance factor can be quite off-putting, particularly with indiscriminate Foursquare users clogging up Twitter or Facebook feeds with endless and uninteresting check ins. There is a privacy concern, but really, it is up to the individual to consider the implications of who knows where you are and when. I’ve found that once I was aware of the settings I will only share a very small number of check ins, and only when I feel I have something worth sharing.
Then there is the question of whether libraries and/or librarians should provide tips on their own libraries. I have seen one or two tips from an institution’s account, as well as several individual’s comments that I suspect might be library staff. I think it is important to be upfront about who is making the comment and that libraries are careful not to be seen to be pushing an agenda. Some genuine tips on making the most of your library visit, however, clearly coming from the library itself might help cut through some of the clutter that has the potential to accumulate on Foursquare.
Still a lot to think about with Foursquare, perhaps using it during my upcoming holiday will be the context I need to understand it’s true usefulness.
