When foursquare first started getting popular I remember thinking, "What is the world coming to?!"  I just couldn't understand why people would want to constantly pinpoint their location on a map for everyone to see.  To each their own, but I just didn't get it.

For those of you who aren't familiar,  foursquare is an application that lets you "check in" to places you visit via your phone.  You just download the application and it uses your phone's GPS to find exactly where you're at, business name and all.  foursquare then automatically publishes the places you visit to Twitter or Facebook, depending on your settings.  According to foursquare's website, the application is meant to be a city guide and friend-finder as well as a game since it rewards users for visiting new places.

As time went by I decided what the heck, and created an account.  Although it irked me when my Facebook homepage was bombarded with people checking in to every single place they went (home, the grocery store, etc.), I started to see a possible professional use for the application.

For my current internship I get to travel a little bit and sometimes visit some interesting places, so I decided that foursquare would be an easy way to let people know what I'm up to professionally.  I also started to use foursquare for social purposes too, but with a little discretion.  When I was in Washington D.C. the other week I checked in to the different places we visited so people could see what I was up to.  You'll never see me check in at the gas station or Walmart, but I do like to publicize any neat places I get to visit.

I guess the moral of the story is to make social media work for you.  Instead of thinking of foursquare as a strictly social application, try to look at it's professional possibilities.  As long as you set it up so that only your friends can see the places you check in to and you follow my advice on discretion, there really is no drawback.

I bet that the next time you end up somewhere pretty cool for an event or business opportunity you get the urge to foursquare... it's pretty addicting.

Do you use foursquare?  If so, what type of places do you check in to and do you agree with my train of thought?