By Sarah Sluis
Foursquare takes Facebook status updates and Twitter musings to the next level. Users with smartphones "check in" to nearby locations. Why sacrifice their privacy? For the possibility of accruing badges, showing off that they're in the next hot restaurant, the cool new film, or to see if any of their friends have checked in to nearby bars.
The nascent company recently posted a clever infographic revealing their stats for the year--including movie check-ins.
Oh, the potential! Much has been made of Twitter's ability to reflect word-of-mouth on a movie, but Foursquare reveals something simpler: admissions. Currently, Foursquare stats aren't available in aggregate to pick apart statistically, but the movie check-in data does offer some insights if you consider why people "check in" on Foursquare.
"Checking in" is an option, not a requirement. While some people check in indiscriminately, others may do so for select movies, or ones that they're proud of the fact they're seeing.
Take, for example, the spike for Iron Man 2 versus the spike for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Eclipse opened just about 20% higher than Iron Man 2, yet the spike goes twice as high. More people wanted to advertise that they were seeing Eclipse.
Foursquare also offers an insight into the moviegoing habits of a specific cross-section of viewers: Conclusions can be made about the kind of people that not only can afford smartphones, but belong to crowds where GPS broadcasting of whereabouts is a cool thing to do. Foursquare hasn't really been monetized yet, but when it does it will offer the kind of specific targeting that makes advertisers drool. Studios or theatre chains would be able to advertise a sub-section of people who have attended a movie (GPS verified!) and encourage them to come back for more.
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