Amsive

PUBLISHED: Apr 30, 2010 4 min read

Foursquare Badges: Check-in and Earn It All

Ruben Quinones

Ruben Quinones

Senior Vice President, Sales

With a check in each second and counting, check-ins at various locations, and most interesting a sense of virtual achievement by winning badges for everything you do. I am talking about foursquare. Now, talking about foursquare is really incomplete if we don’t discuss the different kinds of badges that are awarded to users based on their activity levels, achievements, etc. Most of the badges are obviously proffered by foursquare, but rumor has it that very soon users will be able to create their own badges (this can only lead to chaos – 50 plus badges and counting?). Here’s a short take on different badges and what they mean to you:

Please note: Foursquare badges are further divided into general badges, event badges and city specific badges. This post only deals with the general ones.

Newbie: Well, you earned it when you got there and became a part of the community. This badge is awarded to anyone who completes his/her first check-in at any location. This one should be easy to achieve, right?

Adventurer: While you get into the groove and go about your daily life, you will eventually check into some 10 locations. When you do 10 check-ins, you will be awarded an “Adventurer badge”.

Explorer: Your tires start kicking and you seem to be rolling. When you hit 25 unique check-ins, you could unlock the explorer badge.

Superstar: When you are an explorer (as mentioned above) on steroids, a check-in count of 50 odd venues and locations, you granted a “superstar” status.

Bender: On a different class altogether, you will now be gauged on a different scale – loyalty Vs frequency. If you manage to check-in to the same venue say 4 nights consecutively, you will be awarded the status of a “bender”.

Crunked: The craziness isn’t over yet; it takes a different form when you are about to achieve the ‘Crunked” status. This badge is awarded to you when you do the insane act of checking into 4 unique locations in a single night – yeah, you could think bar-hopping, lounge-hopping or pub-hopping.

Local: Did you ever want to feel “local”? Did you ever crave for the supreme feeling of knowing a place like the back of your hand? Getting yourself the “local” badge might just be the thing for you. It is given when you can check-into the same venue 3 times in one week. This calls for more than just crazy weekends, eh?

Superuser: Here’s where it really starts to get out of hand. I have a feeling only the super rich or the super job-less can get here. You will be awarded with a “super user” status when you check-in a whopping 30 times in any given month. When I first learnt about this, I could only think of my workplace or my home as a unique
check-in location.

Playa Please: The charm of the opposite sex is always inevitable, isn’t it? It has to be everywhere; foursquare won’t disappoint. If you check-in to a venue where at least 3 members of the opposite sex in your network also check-in, you could get “Playa Please” badge – just
another feather in your cap?

School Night: On Foursquare, everyone is recognized, even the late night owls and mid-oil burners. You get a “school night” badge if you check-in after 3 am on a weekday. I wonder how you’d manage to get to work and get the badge at the same time.

Photogenic: I don’t know how this badge is really earned; I just have no way to figure it out yet. However, the “photogenic” badge comes to you when you successfully check into three venues which have a photo booth. Just how the heck does foursquare validate that?I have no way to know (maybe they maintain a database?).

Gym Rat: An apt name for this badge, because this should be one badge you really need to work for. I don’t know how this is done but you get this badge when you can check in to a venue or location tagged as “gym” in an unbelievable 30 day span. Work-out regime for 30 days at a stretch? I don’t know, I was just thinking aloud.

Overshare: If you have nothing else to do all day but just check-in, you might just as well earn this badge. Check in 10 plus times within 12 hours and you get this badge. Again, the name is apt, isn’t it? You are shifting locations every-hour?

Good news? It isn’t over yet. This is a very small list of the badges on foursquare. Here’s a great post in great detail about various foursquare badges and what you need to do to get them by thekruser.com

Hey, what badges have you earned so far?

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