With twitter and blogging, I was first in line. I got it instantly, and loved them. I completely understood when and why to use them, and was involved in every aspect that I could. With Facebook, I was slower to join the trend, a little concerned about connecting business with personal life. But, after some convincing, I delved into Facebook as well, and now have seen the light.

I have tried tons of other social media tools, some I have kept around (linkedin, stumbleupon) and others have faded to the background (friendfeed, digg, reddit). The problem I find is that I am very wary of adding a new tool to my arsenal without really understanding what it can do for business. We have enough on our plates already, that adding another tool must also add to our business instead of taking our precious time. Twitter, Facebook and blogging are all strong examples of adding vs. taking. They deliver stronger connections and great business results. Since Twitter, I have struggled to find a new site that can add value like these three.

About 8 months ago, a new site launched. They called it Foursquare (no, not the game you played in elementary school), and it is a geo-targetting tool to allow users to ‘check-in’ to the locations that they visit.

When I heard about this site, I was very wary. First, it was only launched in a few places. Second, it was only launched as an application for the iphone. This left me (a blackberry user) a little put off. But, never one to shut something down without research, I learned more about it and watched friends use it. After a few months of seeing people “check-in” at locations and earn ‘badges’ for being at places a lot, I still didn’t see a huge value. If the company or place I was at was on twitter, I could basically do the same thing just referencing their twitter name. While I didn’t earn ‘badges’, I didn’t feel like I was missing much. But recently, as foursquare has become more popular, and more and more businesses are getting involved, I have noticed something new. When some of my friends that use it check in at places, they get a surprise – a free drink, 5% off their bill, etc…and ones that check into the same place a lot? The rewards are even better. Also, they have now released an application for the blackberry, making it accessible to me, and more intriguing to try.

So, after seeing the results that some friends have had from using it, and talking with a few businesses about their experience with it, I have decided to download it for my blackberry. Over the next week, I will be testing it out, checking in everywhere I go and seeing how it works. Next Monday, I will write about my experiences and let you know what I think.

If you have tried it, what do you think? If you haven’t, I invite you to try it with me and share your thoughts next week!