Fine Without Foursquare

I honestly can’t remember when I quit Foursquare.

Sure, I could look it up. I tweeted when I did it. In fact, when I did it…it seemed like a momentous occasion. I don’t even remember if I was at home when I did it. I can’t even check that now, because — after all — I quit Foursquare.

And that’s the thing. I decided to quit it because I really didn’t see the point anymore. So much so that I don’t even remember the details surrounding it — details that a social network like Foursquare prides itself on keeping for its users.

I had earned a ton of badges. I had gotten the “swarm badge” on my first check-in because I timed it to coincide with a session at Social Media Camp on…Foursquare. I started checking in frequently, but only for professional excursions. Then that slowed down, especially once I rediscovered Path (or Path improved enough for me to rediscover it). Then I pretty much stopped because I really didn’t want a ton of people to know where I was — and I didn’t want to tell them, either.

If you’re using Foursquare, cool. I don’t begrudge you in the least. I just realized that I wanted to do more with the people in the place I was at than with the people who weren’t.

And they don’t give out badges for that.