I never really started “checking in” and now it looks like I’ve missed my chance. Wouldn’t want to look even remotely out of date, after all.
No, the video is not really related in any way, but for some reason I think of that clip every time I see the “checking in” link on Facebook, and it also reinforces my assertion that there really is a Simpsons reference for every occasion.
I hate that crap… and, to a lesser degree, the people that use it. I will share that link on Facebook hoping people get the message.
I’m neutral about it, but I’m always amused by “last month’s trend” articles that make something most people never really cared one way or another about sound so vitally important.
I’m not ready to say that checkins are dead yet; if anything I think they’re in an evolutionary middle space where they may well evolve into a service focusing on deals and discovery, and Foursquare in particular has some grand plans around this. I think the initial excitement about them has just crested, at least for now. They may well be on their way out but it’s a bit early to call.
I wasn’t super into Foursquare myself until I found this map (click the link on my name), which animates all of your checkins. Once I saw this, I thought it was really neat and began to see some of the value. It’s one of those things, though, that unless you really use it frequently, it seems pretty pointless. And as the article points out, it’s FAR more beneficial for people who live in tight, highly-social urban clusters like Manhattan or San Francisco than anyone in the rest of the country.