How Foursquare could go mainstream

March 8 2010, 9:25am

Popular music magazine, SPIN is bringing the latest in social media and geo-tagging to its South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival through the integration of a custom Foursquare event complete with SPIN-style badges and challenges. The location sharing game, which has received some criticism for the personal security of its users as of late, is offering festival goers a unique experience by turning the SXSW festival into a complex scavenger hunt. SPIN and Foursquare will be offering four different badges for this event, but participants will have theIR share of work to do to get them. The first badge is the SPINsider where you will need to check out three bands that SPIN recommends. The second is the Trailblazer badge, fans will be required to see three shows outside of downtown Austin. The Animal Collector badge will ask fans to go see three bands with an animal in their name, and to accomplish the Bands on the Run challenge fans will have to see seven bands in one day. This event shows Foursquare’s move beyond a simple digital location game. It is now showing mass marketing applications and appeal which could apply to endless future partnerships. The most dedicated fans and users of the SPIN Foursquare collaboration will have the chance at unlocking all of the badges to win two free tickets to SPIN’s annual showcase SPIN STUBB’s. Featuring both up-and-coming artists and more recognizable ones such as Hole. Participants need to be one of the first 10 people to present proof of the badges at the SPIN loft for the tickets to be there’s.