demonick.tv™

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, you would sometimes notice me tweeting my location and what am I doing there. This is because I’m on Foursquare, a platform that lets you “check-in” your location and share it with everyone. What so beneficial you might ask? Well, think of it as a directory of places to go, things to do and travel tips for your friends or anyone from out of town who is visiting…sort of like the Lonely Planet guide, only difference is, the content is generated by contributors and users of the platform. According to Foursquare it’s 50% friend-finder, 30% social cityguide, 20% nightlife game.

BADGES

the badges reminds me back during my scouting days…hehe

One thing I like about Foursquare is that it uses a point system amongst your friends to encourage you to provide more content. Now see those “badges” above? The more different places you recommend or “check-in” the more points you get. If you’re the first one who discover the place and put it in the directory, the more points you get. The more times you “check-in” to one same location, you become “The Mayor” of that location…that is until someone who “checks-in” more times on that location than you. You get the picture right? (think boy scout badges!)

SEARCH & CHECK-IN

When you do a search for say “Mid Valley”, Foursquare will show the above screen. It shows how many of your friends have “checked-in” to the place, and what do they recommend. A great feature is that you can add a “To-do” or “Tips” for the location. It also shows you a Google Map of the location, although depending on how you enter the address when you “check-in”, the maps are sometimes a little off, but not too far off - which is still acceptable. The search also lets you know where your friends are should they “check-in”.

SCORING POINTS

Screenshot above shows the scores between my friends and I. There is another leaderboard that tabulates everyone on Foursquare in Kuala Lumpur. Now in all “kiasu-ness”, my colleagues are always fighting to become “The Mayor” of the office by the number of times you “check-in” to the location. So if one person forgets to “check-in”, then too bad…a new “Mayor” is declared! hahaha..

HOW TO ACCESS?

Right now there are only 3 ways to access and use Foursquare: iPhone App, Android App, and Mobile Web.

CONCLUSIONS

Well, I must say, this is getting rather addictive (and competitive even). I see a lot of potential for it to grow in Kuala Lumpur, provided it is properly used. You must be thinking that now you know my whereabouts, you can stalk me right? Well…technically yes and no. YES, if I “check-in” and it gets broadcasted over my Twitter and Facebook accounts (yea you can update your Facebook status with it), and NO if I “check-in” and select “stay private” function. By selecting that function, your location will not be disclosed in real-time, but the scores will be given for “checking-in”. See they thought of everything so it’s safe! So does it make you want to sign-up for an account too?

My Foursquare profile: http://www.foursquare.com/user/demonick

Last Thursday, a bunch of Tweeple (people from Twitter), got together for a meet up at Bangsar Village to take a look at Poken. So what the hell is a Poken? It’s a RF-based device which transmits and receives data. It looks kinda like the Tamagotchi a few years back. Poken stores contact information of yourself, and links the social media networks you’re on (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc) together in a contact card.

So imagine this: You’re out on a social event and assuming everyone has a Poken, you simply touch 2 Poken devices together, and your contact card is transmitted to the other Poken device and vice versa. Sort of like exchanging business cards, except that you don’t have to carry a stack of cards, and that it can hold more information.

Once you get back home, simply logon to the website, and upload the contacts that you have gotten. Sounds fun right? Actually there are a lot of other applications that you can use Poken for. The video below illustrates some of other applications that can be used with the Poken device which can cater to manage events and also links to Google Maps! How cool is that?

Now you must be thinking…since all my information is in there…isn’t it dangerous if I lose it? Well, yes and no. You can actually set how much information you want to send out from the website settings which will configure your Poken device. Setting the “discrete” option will only send limited details and in “normal” mode, it will send everything in your Poken profile.

My Poken…cute no?

Thanks to Eric (@kenloo) who brought the Pokens all the way from Japan. It costs about USD25 per device and will work with any machine that has a USB port. I got mine from Eric at RM60, which I thought was a really good deal. We’re probably the first batch of people who are using these Poken devices, and hopefully..with more awareness and promotions from us, Poken will be the next “big” thing in KL. So don’t be surprise next time when someone comes up to you and asks: “Do you Poken?”