Rich Mintz  

Foursquare is taking off in NYC, so it’s worth saying something about. For the uninitiated, it’s a smartphone application in which you “check in” at all the places you visit as you move about the city, with your location being shared automatically with your friends as you do. (In the background, the users are building a venue database in real time, an asset that I’m sure the Foursquare development team has big plans for.) You earn points and badges for your check-ins, according to a somewhat arcane set of rules, and can thereby compete informally with your friends for social karma.

WIth my friends list hitting critical mass, and the venue database filling out, the whole thing is becoming more than a curiosity from where I sit. As a sort of experiment, I’ve tried to take the game seriously for the past couple of weeks — checking in religiously at every legitimate venue I visit, adding those that are missing, trying to recruit more friends to participate.

As a result, I’m currently leading my friends in points, and (as Andrew Hearst called to my attention this afternoon) I’ve hit the NYC leaderboard for this week, and am currently ranked somewhere in the mid-forties. (The numbers reset to zero on Sunday night, so I have another two days of glory before I fall off the list.)

This certainly won’t last (at a minimum, the resourceful Ryan J. Davis will certainly figure out a way to push back up to first position among my friends, where he usually is). But it’s been fun.

Foursquare has evolved; at least among the comparatively middle-aged people I know, it’s no longer only about keeping track of your friends when they “go out” at night. That’s resulted in some gray areas about what kinds of check-ins are legitimate, which the game designers didn’t or couldn’t anticipate or resolve. So in honor of the game, I’m going to publish a draft set of rules for fair play right here, for your review and comment.

Rule #1: You may check in only at publicly accessible places.

A place has to be publicly accessible, otherwise it’s not fair to others who might be passing by and could benefit from a check-in. Workplace check-ins are legitimate, as long as your workplace is open to the public or frequently visited by people who don’t work there. Checking in at your house is tacky; checking in at the “100 Park Avenue Apartments” is right on the line. I’d say it’s “acceptable,” but I wouldn’t do it.

Rule #2: You may check in only at named places.

A place has to have a name in order to be legit. What I really mean by this is that it has to have a Platonic identity; it has to exist at all times of the day or night, and everyone has to agree on what its name refers to. So, for instance, any named business is okay. “City Hall Park” or “Times Square” or “Staten Island Ferry” are all legit, because everyone knows what you mean. Your doctor’s office is okay. Public landmarks and facilities are okay. “Coffee Cart at 23rd and 6th” (or “JetBlue Flight 807″) — well, now, that’s just sad.

A geekier way to express Rules #1 and #2 together: if it doesn’t belong in a venue database, what are you doing checking in there?

Subway stations are legit (and someone has helpfully loaded all the NYC stations into the system in a consistent manner — search for “MTA” when you’re standing outside the station). You may check in once when you enter the system and once when you leave. NB: A bus stop (streetcorner, parking lot, etc.) is not a place!

Rule #3: You may check in at a place more than once in a day, as long as you go somewhere else in between.

This one will stir some controversy, but I think it’s fair (as long as Rules #1 and #2 are also observed). Abusers of this privilege will be executed by lethal injection.

Rule #4: You must physically be on the premises in order to be permitted to check in at a place.

So, for instance: if Duane Reade is closed when you walk by, you’re out of luck. And parking in the parking lot of a business that is closed does not count as “being on the premises.” Nor does placing an online order from a restaurant via Delivery.com. (However: if you stop at the ATM outside the bank and transact business, you’re on the premises — go to town!)

Rule #5: Hiding your location from your friends is not cheating.

You’re given an option not to tell your friends when you check-in. Use it whenever you like, as long as you’re respecting all the other rules. For instance, you’re not necessarily entitled to know who all my clients are, or where my dentist’s office is, or where I’m taking my sweetheart out to dinner. But if the venues otherwise qualify, why shouldn’t I get the points?

Rule #6: Play the game with goodwill.

This rule always trumps Rules #1 through #5.

Tags: New York, social media

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