I love Foursquare and continue to have very high hopes for the location-based check-in space. I think one of the key things to look forward to is when these services (Foursquare, Gowalla, SCVNGR and of course, Facebook Places) are integrated with business POS (point of sale) systems. The idea being that businesses would know we were checked-in, in real-time, and be ABLE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, based on our past buying history is one of the most significant things we can all look forward to. That's when marketing and conversions become relevant and pointed in the LBS space.

But until then, there is something else that's been eating away at me as I've thought about Foursquare and similar services.

Foursquare treats all its users as if they were the same

Sure, there are mayors and superusers etc, but basically Foursquare is a game that treats every user as if were just that single little Mario running around our respective cities and towns checking-in everywhere.

But the issue is that almost everyone I know uses Foursquare differently, and I think it is time that the LBS market start to expand their gaming levels. For instance, I have friends and followers that

• Use Foursquare to check-in almost everywhere they go but never leave tips or suggestions
• Conversely, I know people who check-in less frequently but leave fantastically useful tips whenever they do
• Check-in only at restaurants but never think to check-in at retail outlets or medical offices
• Never check-in but use the service to find out where there friends are, what locations are "hot" at any given moment, etc.
• Love collecting badges that Foursquare and its brand partners offer up for completing various tasks
• Use Foursquare to play pranks on one another, digitally stalk one another, see who's hanging out with who

The fact is that there are many iterations of Foursquare users. Among early adopters, finding a unique way to use Foursquare is almost a badge of honor. What I would like to see, and furthermore what I think fits in with the philosophical underpinnings of the founders of Foursquare and these other services, is to turn real-life into a game. Dennis Crowley has said as much on countless occasions:

"People check in for a number of reasons. They want to share information with friends and have a general awareness of what people are doing. But one thing that we do that's different is that we've made life into a game. You get points for checking in. You get mayorships and badges. You can leave tips and these tips are everywhere in the world."

Super Mario Meet Sid Meier

But if they really want to turn real-life into a game, Foursquare needs to think less about Super Mario Bros. where everyone is always Mario, battling Koopa troopers, stomping mushrooms and rescuing the princess (shit did i really just write all that? oy vey) AND MORE about a game like Civilization. Why?

Because in turn-based strategy games like Civiliation there is no distinct path one needs to follow to play the game. One wins or loses based on an expanding number of decisions. Decide to develop science and technology over agriculture and weapons and your civilization will be advanced but weak at times, susceptible to invasion. Focus your attention on being agressive and plundering nearby civilizations and you'll become a powerhouse warmongerer but one where morale is constantly on ebb due to the constant strife.

See where I am going here? The point is that we all live our lives in unique ways. And these location services need to start recognizing it and altering their services so there isn't just one goal (to become mayor of a particular venue) but thousands of goals that we actually get to pick and choose. This is how Foursquare needs to evolve in order to fulfill Crowley's self-defined destiny of turning real life into a game.

I haven't been a gamer in more than 10 years but I remember the most fascinating aspects of games like Civilization was developing a strategy for the kind of civilization you wanted to have. See the image below and you'll get an idea of the kind of "tree" you can develop.

Choosing Your Own Destiny

Now let's see the location based services take this approach. Wanna turn my life into a game? Great, I am SO DOWN for that. Just don't make my game like anyone else's, give me the opportunity to play the game as I see fit, going after the things and achievements, places and people that I desire. Every new restaurant I go to gets me one step closer not just to a mayorship, but 20 other more interesting developments. If I am focused on shopping and retail, make their be an end-goal, like visiting 200 retial boutiques in one year gets me bragging rights beyond the simple check-in. Get some of those big sponsors of yours to pick and choose which adventures they want to really get involved with.

Build the tree of life yo!