“FourSquare is in the business of
connecting people with places, and places with people. We make money when those
two parties are happy”
Product Manager Noah Weiss in an interview with CNET on February 25, 2013
FourSquare,
the LBS (Location Based Service) Social Network is slowly heading towards
having a solid Business Model and finally, finally making some profit of at
least US$2 million for 2012 alone. This as the company has now partnered with
VISA and MasterCard to offer US$2 cash back for every US$10 purchase at Burger
King as noted in “FourSquare
checks in to more revenue with credit card specials”,
published February 25, 2013 9:01 PM PST by Jennifer Van Grove, CNET News.
Now
this is nothing new, actually. Back in June 2011, FourSquare had partnered with
American Express to offer the same discounts for checking into certain
participating merchants. I had back then had touted as a step towards a
business model in a bid to wean themselves off VC (Venture Capital) funding as
noted in my blog
article entitled “The
FourSquare's American Express Discount - Geo-Location Fast Five 10 million
Strong”.
Now
two (2) years into the future with membership thirty (30) million Strong and
it’s pretty much the same deal, powered by their Credit Card partner, First
Data that handles the Credit Card Transactions:
1. FourSquare
members see Burger King Credit Card special when they check-in. They can also
find it in FourSquare’s Explore tab
2. Once
they sync their card to FourSquare, they are effectively registered and thus
pay as normal
Easy
as pie! And yes, dear Reader, ONLY in the US of A!
Makes
you realize that the potential for LBS is a slowly growing one, even here in
Jamaica. I am still surprise that Telecom Providers both in the US of A and
Jamaica haven’t taken more to LBS.
US
Telecom Provider AT&T does a service called ShopAlerts as described in my blog
article entitled “AT&T
and ShopAlerts - Confessions of a Geo-Location Shopaholic”, but that’s since 2011 and I’m yet to come across
any news on its expansion or improvement. Ditto too any news on Google News, a
Geo-Location News Service as described in my blog
article entitled “Geo-Location
Rise and Google News - Vybz Kartel's News Minority Report Color-ing Book”.
Telecom
Providers GSM (Global System Mobile) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
Mobile Networks use Triangulation Data based on which Cell Tower Sector –
Alpha, Beta or Gamma Sector – the customer happens to be in to pinpoint their
location and route Voice Calls and SMS (Short Messaging Service) Messages as
described in my blog
article entitled “Mobile
Triangulation without GPS - a solution to crime under our noses”.
The
difference is that Telecom Providers do not use GPS (Global Positioning
Satellite), GPS being a service reserved for use by Map Apps on your smartphone
or Blackberry.
Combined
with MNP (Mobile Number Portability) and the resultant MRSI (Mandatory
Registration of Subscriber Data) and blocking Unlocked smartphones and mobile
phones in general as noted in my blog
article entitled “Librarian
of the Library of Congress makes smartphone unlocking Illegal - How Jamaica can
benefit from the Safe Haven of MNP by banning unlocking of smartphones and
Tablets”, Telecom Providers
benefit by offering LBS via Mobile Triangulation.
Geo-Location
Services such as Vehicle Fleet Tracking as currently being implemented to track
Delinquent Jamaican Police Officers as described in “Tracking
system coming for police vehicles”, published Saturday,
March 02, 2013 BY ALICIA
DUNKLEY-WILLIS Senior staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer.
Once the Jamaican Police are ship-shape, Tackling Crime via access to an MRSI
Database will eventually led to Crime Eradication.
Telecom
Providers will benefit from LBS under such an MNP environment, a stringent
requirement for to getting a new Area Code as described in my blog
article entitled “OUR
applies for new Area Code for Jamaica - Competition in Telecoms in the coming
Hunger Game Catching Fire of Mobile Computing”.
I
even described one such which I dubbed Brown Dawg I Spy Rewards, which is an
expansion on the then-popular Digicel I Spy Game that was introduced in 2004 or
2005 as noted in my blog
article entitled “Brown
Dawg and I Spy Rewards- Geo-location rewards system for Mobile Social
Networking”. It can be added onto the Brown Dawg Social
Network concept suggested in the article as a means of monetizing Calls being
forwarded to Voice Mail.
Granted,
there’s the issue of overcoming the fear of Big Brother tracking you everywhere
you go. But akin to our American Counterparts, I suspect many Jamaicans would
be willing to give up their Geo-Location Data as well as be paid to listen to
Voicemail and Read SMS Ads just to quality for The Conjuring (2013)
of Free phone Calls.
Maybe
Burger King or any other Fast Food outlet may join in on the Fun, were
FourSquare to go Global IF Smartphone Adoption picks up in Developing World
Countries as predicted in my blog
article entitled “MWC
2013 reveals Firefox OS & Tizen OS launching Second & Third Quarter
2013 respectively - Samsung's Despicable Me 2 & Mozilla practices The ABC's
of Death”. FourSquare, an Early Pioneer in the US of A, leads
the way to an LBS future.
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