On my flight to Austin for SXSW yesterday, I spoke with Shawn Yeager about, among other things, mobile culture and how audiences are quickly maturing.
We talked about Foursquare, of course, and Shawn observed this: Foursquare creates this hope that after checking in somewhere, one of your contacts will see your check-in and spontaneously join you, and technology will have magically expedited real social engagement. However, it very rarely happens that way. I agree; I think I’m relatively active and connected on Foursquare, but it’s not happened for me either.
The more I think about it, though, the less I see it as a failure. In fact, I see this as a valid part of their product. They create promise, and indulge my hope that such spontaneous “happenings” are both possible and desirable. In part, my use of Foursquare is a statement of belief in this promise, and this in itself is valuable.
A separate example of a product which offers “promise” as a benefit is Basecamp, I think. In my years working with clients, I don’t think I ever fully realized the promise inherent in Basecamp: that two organizations, mine and my client’s, would come together in a beautiful orgy of planning and communication. But the tool’s total indulgence of this fantasy helps bring me closer to it.
Both examples — Basecamp and Foursquare — indulge dreams, and are designed on ideals we’ll rarely achieve. I think this is not only not a failure, but a kind of success I’d like to see in every product I develop.
