This is the one where I’ve become the mayor of your face.

Posted April 27th, 2010 by Mike Lawson

Are you using Foursquare?  You know, the location service-based social network game.  The gist is that you “check in” when you arrive anywhere and it lets your friends know where you’re at.  Imagine Google Latitude knocking up Twitter.

The fun part, for me anyway, is that you get points for checking in.  The points aren’t really good for anything (yet), but you can gain badges for different check in combinations.  For example I received a “BENDER” badge for going out four nights in a row.

And then there’s the mayorships.  All you have to do is be the person that has checked into a location more than anyone else and you’ll receive the crown of mayor.  So gratifying.

At the time of this writing I’m the mayor of five location:

• Dan’s House
• The North Tempe Multigenerational Center
• My Work
• My Work’s Admin Offices
• My paren’ts house

There are two badges that I’m really dying to get (oh my god I’m a nerd).

I need the Gym Rat badge.  Yes, I said “NEED.”  To get this badge you have to take ten trips to a location that is tagged “GYM” in a thirty day time span.  This is important to me because I’ve made a recent decision to regain control over my health.

I also need the Super Mayor badge.  To get this badge you need to hold down 10 mayorships at the same time.  And it can never be taken away from you!  I kind of suck at mayorships right now…I’ve only got five.  I just need to get better at checking in at the bizarre places I go where people don’t have smart phones.  For example, maybe it’s time to go visit my friends next door in the senior center.

I’ll keep you updated.  I’m not one of those super-annoying Twitter people that broadcast every god damn location they visit.  I only broadcast when I win a mayorship, or when I unlock a new badge.  So if you want to follow me on Twitter, go here.

I’m sorry if this is super-nerdy…I feel as obsessed as a World Of Warcraft gamer nerd – but at least with Foursquare you’re out in the real world.